Alice in Earth
by nevergrowup97
Summary: Named by herself after a fictional children's story, Alice is about to fall through a rabbit hole of epic proportions. When she finds herself on a radiation filled Earth, she thinks nothing could be worse than the experimentation rooms on the Arc, but she could be wrong...
1. Episode 1 Part 1

You've been given a second chance…. No idea what is waiting for you down there….

Expendable… Second chance… Records wiped clean… Waiting for you… Expendable…

A sharp pain burst through my skull as a muddled voice droned above the hum of an engine. I fought against the heavy weight of my eyelids, struggling to lift my head. My racing heart skipped a beat as I finally pushed past the haze to find I was tied down. Or rather, strapped in. A red safety belt crossed along my chest so tightly my desperate gasps for breath were cut short by nearly two inches.

The blurred figures surrounding me transformed to reveal people. Teenagers. Strapped in the same belts as I was. They cast a few curious glances towards me then turned towards the monitors hanging on the walls around the cabin. Murmurs sounded from every seat, all too quiet and muffled to make out any clear conversations, but I managed to make out a few extremely unnerving words, Dead, Crash, Toxic, Earth.

On the screen, a middle-aged man with dark caramel skin stood stiffly, "Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain 300 people for up to two years."

I helplessly tugged at the choking belt, nearly hyperventilating. My lightly streaked brown hair was tied back in a ponytail that I had no memory of doing. I could feel the irises of my silver-green eyes pulsing along with the frenzied beat of my heart. This couldn't be possible. I considered every possible explanation but found only one answer. We were being sent to Earth.

"Spacewalk Bandit strikes again!" Three boys unstrapped their belts one after the other and began to float around the room followed by cheers. My belt seemed to be welded together, impossible to even loosen. A blonde girl warned them to strap back in and a small argument broke out. I ignored the conversation and tried to concentrate on the transmission, completely clueless as to what they were talking about. Idiots.

The man on the screen continued, "Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately. Your one responsibility is to stay alive…" The screen cut out as everyone was thrown in their seats.

The shuttle jerked hard, sending the boys flying through the air. The commotion slowed as my fingers began to tingle and my blood ran hot. Just as one of the boys passed across my seat, I could feel the metal connecting my seat belt burst open and without thinking, I clutched the red strap and reached out to the boy. My hand closed around his arm in a death grip and I was shaken roughly as the entire drop ship began to rattle uncontrollably. The boy was thrown to the ground below me as an unbearably heavy weight pushed down on the ship.

Shrieks filled the cabin as the air became thick with heat. The violent shaking seemed to last forever. Then, with a bone jarring impact, there was silence. The boy whose arm I had been gripping squirmed. I quickly let go and wiped at the blood now running down my nose. The boy shakily rose to his hands and knees, then looked to me in shock.

"Listen." I didn't haven't to avoid his intense and questioning stare for long as a silent awe filled the room. I could hear the blood pumping through my veins and the shagged breaths of the others, "No machine hum." Someone said.

"Woah. That's a first." A boy whispered.

Seat belts simultaneously clicked as everyone began to stand from their seats, unsure of what to do or where to go, but clearly wanting to get off of the ship. I stood, shaking, and gasping for air. I needed to get away from all these people. It was too overwhelming. I spotted an open latch leading down to the bottom of the drop ship and headed for the opening, but my gaze was momentarily drawn to the injured boys still lying on the ground.

"Finn, is he breathing?" The blonde girl called from a few seats away as she rushed to one of the boys lying on the ground. The boy I had caught, Finn, turned towards the corner where the second boy had been flung. He raced to his side and checked his pulse, then looked to the girl with a stricken face. They were both dead.

My breath caught as I quickly turned away and started down the ladder.

"The other door is on the lower level. Let's go!" A boy called, following me from above.

"No, we can't just open the doors." I recognized the blonde girls voice again, pleading while climbing down the ladder as well.

I groaned as I fell into the even larger crowd that was forming in the lower level. They surged forward, eager to escape the hot metal room. A tall handsome boy wearing an eerily familiar jacket stood in front of the door and held his hands up, "Hey, just back it up guys."

"Stop! The air could be toxic." Blondie pushed through the crowd and confronted the boy head on. I was beginning to think all this girl could do was argue. A small part of me agreed with her though. She seemed to know what she was doing more than any of us, anyways.

"If the air is toxic we're all dead anyway." The boy answered annoyed and turned back to open the door. Good point there.

"Bellamy?" A confused and tired voice sounded above the murmurs and froze the boy in his tracks. I turned to see a pretty girl with long dark hair break through the crowd and approach the boy.

"That's the girl they hid under the floor." The scrawny boy next to me whispered rather loudly.

"My God, look how big you are." A surprisingly warm smile crossed the rough looking boy's face, Bellamy, as he affectionately hugged the girl.

"What the hell are you wearing? A guard's uniform?" The hug was broken as the girl questioningly looked over Bellamy. My heart dropped as I finally recognized the jacket. A guard?

"I borrowed it to get on the drop ship. Someone's gotta keep an eye on you." I let out a silent breath of relief as they hugged again. A guard was the last thing I needed at the moment.

"Where's your wrist band?" The blonde girl interrupted their reunion. For the first time I noticed that everyone had large silver wrist bands on their right hands. I looked down to my own wrist and, sure enough, felt a familiar dull pain that had only just began to register. We were all being monitored.

"Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year." The girl turned to Blondie, annoyed.

"No one has a brother!" The same scrawny boy sounded off.

"That's Octavia Blake! The girl they found living in the floor!" A wave of laughter sounded through the crowd as a girl disdainfully commented on Bellamy's sister.

Octavia started to lunge, pure anger in her face, but Bellamy grabbed her, "Octavia no!"

I rolled my eyes as the scrawny kid snickered and whispered something incredibly crude. I raised my leg and kicked his own out from underneath him. The crowd immediately parted, with several curious glares settling right on me and the boy moaning on the ground beside me. I momentarily met eyes with Bellamy Blake, he looked about as shocked as I felt, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Hey, why don't you give them something else to remember you by?" I nodded to Octavia, sounding way more calm than I felt.

"Yeah, like what?" Somehow I felt an unspoken connection to the girl. We had both been hidden away our entire lives.

"Like being the first person on the ground in 100 years." I smiled and glanced at the lever behind Bellamy. The two siblings tuned to each other and smiled, then he pulled the lever and the door burst open.

A painfully bright light exploded through the room, causing everyone to take a simultaneous step back. As the brightness faded, a wonderful breeze blew in through the crowd. My lungs contracted and I could breathe clearly for the first time in my entire life. There was green everywhere. Tall trees spiraled into the air. The sky looked infinite. Full of possibilities.

It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, yet I found my gaze drawn to the mysterious Bellamy, whose loving eyes never left Octavia as she cautiously stepped further down the ramp. She paused as she reached the edge of the ramp and everyone stilled. Then she jumped to the ground.

"We're back bitches!" Octavia raised her hands to air, prompting cheers from everyone. People rushed from both sides of me, entering the forest without a second thought. My mind was ready to be whisked away into the endless green, but my feet kept planted to the ship.

I looked to my left to find the blonde girl in a similar situation. Trying to take it all in at once. "Nothing would be what it was…" I murmured a quote from an old childhood story. The girl tilted her head, staring at me curiously.

"I'm Clarke." She nodded in greeting and offered a smile.

"I'm… Alice." I spoke the name before thinking. It had been so long since I had chosen it and imagined it to be my true name. I had almost forgotten.

"Care to check something out?" Clarke approached the edge of the ramp and jumped down. She took a moment to savor her first steps on Earth, then looked back at me in question. I nodded yes and jumped down beside her.

I was surprised as my feet landed on soft ground, sinking in. Our landing had created what looked like a war zone, sending trees flying everywhere and setting small fires across the cleared area. None of it seemed to bother anyone as they danced around in joy and began slowly venturing out further away from the ship.

Clarke led us to a small opening and I lost my breathe once again. Before us stood a cluster of enormous mountains. I had only seen pictures before and they definitely had not prepared me for this, but Clarke seemed too distracted to recognize the beauty as she pulled out a map. I had no idea where it had come from or how she had gotten it, but I was glad I had chosen to follow the girl with a map.

I truly looked at her for the first time. Her disheveled blonde hair was beginning to fall from it's braid, but it only made her blue eyes shine brighter. She wore the same similarly ragged clothes as everyone else, which brought my attention to what I was wearing. I hadn't really been paying attention too much since I had woken up strapped down to a ship crashing through space.

My attire was nothing like the stiff white gowns I had become accustomed to on the Arc. I wore a loose black long sleeve shirt and cargo pants with combat boots. I immediately pulled the sleeves down as low as possible to cover the bruises and needle marks. A small gasp escaped my lips as I felt the fabric. I turned to Clarke, thankful she hadn't noticed. They were definitely old clothes, but they felt like satin compared to what I was used to. I noticed that I had not been afforded a jacket like most everyone else, but it didn't bother me, I was used to the cold.

"Why so serious, Princess? It's not like we died in a fiery explosion." I turned to come face to face with a smirking Finn. He looked straight ahead, but he was clearly speaking to Clarke. His dark eyes lit in amusement and his long brown hair hung down just above his chin.

"Try telling that to the two guys who tried to follow you out of their seats." Clarke retorted angrily. I winced, remembering all too well.

"You don't like being called Princess, do you Princess?" I could feel the tension between the two, and decided it better to keep out of it.

"Do you see that peak over there?" Clark asked indignantly.

"Yeah."

"Mount Weather. There's a radiation soaked forest between us and our next meal. They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain." Clarke stormed away, leaving Finn and I in an uncomfortably awkward silence.

"Really smooth." I snickered at the defeated face he wore, I bet he had never been rejected so devastatingly before. Unfortunately, that brought his unwanted attention to me.

"Ah, my hero! I never got a chance to thank you. I'm Finn." He stretched his hand out, waiting for a handshake that never came.

"Yeah, I got that." I continued to surprise myself at how nonchalant I was coming off about the whole situation. I guess I was just in shock.

"And you are?" He smiled a devilish smile, prompting an answer.

"Alice." I kept my gaze locked on the mountains in front of us, unwilling to let into his attempts at charm just yet.

"Well Alice, I am forever in your debt muh'lady." He mock bowed and I felt a slither of a smile cross my face, but quickly ignored it and walked away rolling my eyes.

I stopped just inside the landing site with Finn following close behind me. Low and behold, another argument had broken out. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and stood apprehensively around the fight.

"Screw your father. What? You think you're in charge here. You and your little Princess?' Octavia bitterly spat the words towards a dark skinned boy protectively standing in front of Clarke. Bellamy stood silently behind his sister. His thick brown hair was combed back and there was no denying the handsome features in his brown eyes, olive skin, and muscular build.

"Do you think we care who's in charge? We need to get to Mount Weather. Not because the Chancellor said so but because the longer we wait the weaker we'll get and the harder this'll be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies. We're looking at a 20 mile trek, ok? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave now." Clarke pleaded once again for reasoning. I highly doubted she was going to find it there.

"I got a better idea. You two go find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." Bellamy spoke with the same resentment as Octavia. A sound of agreement passed through the crowds and the entire ambiance of the conversation turned dark.

"You're not listening. We all need to go." The son of the Chancellor refuted, but was cut short as a different boy stepped forward, shoving him in agitation.

"Look at this everybody, the Chancellor of Earth!" The boy circled him, chiding. This was going nowhere fast.

"You think that's funny?" Clarke's supporter challenged the boy. In return, the boy ducked down and threw him to the ground.

"Wells!" Clark cried, starting to help him up, but was stopped by another boy standing beside her. Judging by the worry on her face, Wells and Clarke must have known each other long before this.

"No, but that was." The angry boy stood over Wells, waiting for him to stand. As Wells scrambled to his feet, the two circled, preparing to fight. I noticed he was favoring one foot, he must have been injured in the crash. No one else seemed to notice, or care for that matter, they all began to chant, cheering the fight on.

This boy, Wells, was the son of the Chancellor, a faceless man who had filled my nightmares for the better part of my life. I had never seen him of course, only knew that he was part of the reason I was locked away. And now the reason I was here, on Earth.

I sighed and stepped forward, placing myself between the two boys, "Kid's got one leg. Why don't you wait until it's a fair fight?" Let's hope the apple fell far from the tree if I was going to stand up for this kid.

"What about you then?" The boy stepped forward, bringing us so close we were almost touching noses.

"Wouldn't you like to figure out." I stood unmoving, this kid didn't know what he was asking for. The air seemed to grow static, sending my nerves tingling. A fight never occurred though, as Finn ever so dramatically jumped down from some pipes sticking out of the ship and put his hands on both our shoulders.

"I think we're done here." He locked eyes with the boy and they stood there battling with their eyes. Boys. All talk.

"Hey, Spacewalker, rescue me next!" Octavia stepped forward smiling. The angry mob ebbed to a sizzle as everyone laughed and found something else to entertain themselves. I gave her a grateful nod for diffusing the situation harmlessly. Bellamy, on the other hand, looked disappointed in his sister's obvious flirtation.

"What? He's cute." Octavia said simply. I averted my gaze, feeling like an intruder in their little sibling engagement.

"He's a criminal." Bellamy retorted.

"They're all criminals."

Bellamy grabbed her arm and pulled her away, "Look, O. I came down here to protect you."

"I don't need protecting. I've been locked up one way or another all my life. I am done following orders. I need to have fun, Bell. I need to just do something crazy just because I can, and no one, including you, is gonna stop me." Harsh, but I could completely understand where she was coming from.

"I can't stay with them, O."

"Now what are you talking about."

I slipped behind a nearby tree as Bellamy pulled her farther away from the camp and lowered his voice, "I did something, ok, to get on the drop ship, something that they will kill me for when they come down. I can't say what it is just yet, but you have to trust me. You still do trust me, don't you?"

"Yeah."

Before their conversation could end and they could spot me eavesdropping, I slipped away with even more questions than before. There was so much I didn't know. So much I had to learn about this new world. More so the people in it than the actual planet. I had quickly learned in my short life that people could be very dangerous.

It seemed I had been sent down to Earth with a ship full of criminals. Not that it took much to become a criminal on the Arc. Bellamy hadn't been meant to be on the ship, which at least meant he wasn't some delinquent, or at least he hadn't been caught. I felt a twinge of jealousy as I remembered just how lonely it felt to have no one willing to stand up for you.

"So, Mount Weather." Finn spoke as I approached him standing over Clarke and Wells as she tended to his his leg.

I knew I was going to regret it later, but I volunteered, "When do we leave?"

Clarke nodded in appreciation then answered, "Right now. We'll be back tomorrow with food."

Wells proposed an interesting question, "How are the three of you gonna carry enough food for 100?"

Finn smiled and turned to grab two dorky guys I recognized from the ship, Monty and Jasper if I wasn't mistaken. Monty was Asian with tan skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. Jasper, on the other hand, was a tall skinny boy with dark hair and eyes and wore a large pair of goggles on his head.

"Sounds like a party. Make it six" Octavia joined the small group and I couldn't help but smile at the pitiful party of misfits we had banded together.

Bellamy was behind Octavia in seconds, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Going for a walk." Octavia was becoming more defiant by the minute.

Before Bellamy could explode with anger, Clarke grabbed Finn's wrist, "Hey, were you trying to take this off?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So, this wristband transmits your vital signs to the Arc. Take it off and they'll think you're dead." Clarke seemed almost desperate. I couldn't quite make out what it was, but I saw a plan developing in Bellamy's mind. A desperate thought came to mind, I had to get my own transmitter off. They had to think I was dead. I didn't know what I would do after that, but it was enough for me just to take it one thing at a time.

"Should I care?" Finn asked coldly.

"Well, I don't know. Do you want the people you love to think you're dead? Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying." Finn slowly lowered his head in agreement, "Ok, now let's go."

I found myself forming a plan. The wrist band had to go, one way or another, if I ever wanted to survive.

The others started to head out. I stood behind, waiting for Clarke, but found myself accidentally catching Bellamy and Octavia hugging. She kissed him on the cheek and followed the others. I caught Bellamy's worried eyes for only a second and I hoped he could read my expression. I would watch over Octavia. He nodded in understanding and something I couldn't quite recognize crossed over his face.

I turned and caught up to Clarke who was walking away from a distraught looking Wells. With merely a look, there was an unspoken agreement not to mention the bad chemistry between the two. As we caught up to Octavia, she warned, "Before you two get any ideas, Finn is mine."

I snorted as Clarke replied, "Before you get any ideas, I don't care." I had to hand it to Octavia for not letting the whole life and death situation get to her. Like she said, she was finally free and she wasn't going to let anything ruin that. Neither was I.

Clarke increased her pace, leaving Octavia and I behind, "I swear that girl's got a stick up her ass." Octavia said it just loud enough for Clarke to hear, but she kept going, unaffected.

"So what's your story. Thanks for kicking that asshole in the ship, by the way."

"I'm Alice." Was all I offered, but she didn't pry.

"Octavia." She curtsied and busted out laughing, drunk with freedom. Nothing could bring this girl down.

We caught up to Monty and Jasper and Octavia skipped ahead, obviously trying to get closer to Finn, I fell into step with the two boys, "So Alice, how come we've never seen you before?" Jasper smiled and nudged Monty.

"I've… been locked up for a long time." It was a lame excuse, I know. But it was pretty much the truth. Thankfully, the two were distracted by Octavia and Finn up ahead.

"Now, that, my friends, is game." Jasper put his arm around Monty and looked approvingly to Finn who was sticking a strange purple flower behind Octavia's ear. They looked so giddy and care-free to just have crash landed on a potentially toxic planet.

"That, my friend, is poison sumac." Monty replied between snickers. I nervously crossed my arms against my chest. Despite it's beauty, the mossy forest screamed danger.

The others walked on as they discussed how they had landed a one way ticket to Earth. I slowly fell back but stayed close behind. My chest constricted as the shock of everything began to wear off. They thought the situation was bad. They had no idea.

As Clarke spoke, her concerns of radiation poisoning sent me over the edge. Radiation. Flashes of an empty bright room and beeping monitors seared my eyes. The others were too distracted to notice that the forest had stilled. I could feel the air grow stale and hear the trees creak under pressure. It went as fast as it had come as I felt blood trickle from my nose into my mouth. I wiped at the blood in habit as my head exploded with pain. Thankfully, the blood was camouflaged by my dark sleeve, now clammy with the sweat of my palms.

As the cloud surrounding my mind passed, I gratefully found that no one had noticed my little leak, in fact, they were all crouching behind a bush. I silently approached and gasped at what had caught their attention. A majestic deer stood in the middle of an open clearing. I marveled at the beauty of its lean and strong body.

I remembered reading as many books as I could get my hand on in the miserable fluorescent lights of my small room. They weren't actually books with paper and covers like they used to be, but virtual text on a small handheld device. One had been about a young orphaned fawn, the moment I saw the creature standing before me I knew it was the same as the little Bambi I had grown to love.

And then there was its head. Or should I say, heads. One fully formed, then another less developed grotesquely attached to the side. I couldn't help but admire it. Though it was nothing like the cartoon illustrations of Bambi, I saw something vaguely familiar in its eyes. A fellow freak.

"No animals, huh?" Finn whispered in amazement as he stepped towards the grazing deer. As he stepped on a twig, it snapped in two, scaring the deer and causing it to run into the shelter of the trees beside the clearing.


	2. Episode 1 Part 2

The Arc is dying. Clarke's blunt words rang through my head. Of course I knew it would happen eventually, that's why I had been hidden away my whole life. Treated like an animal. Worse than an animal actually.

Clarke had intended to let the people know, and that's why she was here now. She had gone against the Council's wishes and was put in prison for it. Her father was killed for trying do the same. I felt sorry for her, she had people to lose, and she knew what it felt like when that happened. All I had was the empty feeling of never being loved, at least I had never felt the aching despair of losing someone, the feeling that I could clearly see on Clarke's face as she relived her memories.

I had walked ahead during their conversation, not wanting to hear any more. My fingers tingled as I smelt something strange. Something fresh and clean, like nothing I had ever smelt before. I soon saw what had sparked the attention of my nose as a soft breeze rolled by and my ears registered the sound of running water. Before me lay a fixture of rocks leading to what could only be a small river.

I looked back to make sure the others were still close by and went forward. It was a beautiful sparkling green. I had never seen so much water in my life. I leaned down and ran my hand through the chilly water. It felt so smooth and pure. A new beginning.

A shuffle from behind startled me and I looked to see Octavia jumping with a huge smile on her face. Then she began to take her pants off. I averted my eyes back to the water, lost as to what to do.

"Octavia, what the hell are you doing?" Clarke squeaked as the others approached and was returned only with a smile from Octavia as she turned to jump into the water, splashing water onto my feet.

The others ran to stand beside me, surprised half with fear and half with excitement, "Octavia, we can't swim!" Monty exclaimed.

"No, but we can stand." Octavia smiled as she rose in the water, her shirt soaking wet.

"Wait, there's not supposed to be a river here." Clarke spoke up, always cautious.

"Well there is, so take off your damn clothes." Finn, Monty, and Jasper were already starting to strip. I rolled my eyes and sat on the rocks, enjoying the beauty of the river.

I looked into the distance, trying to see anything that might help us get across, a break in the river or something. And that's when I saw it. A huge ripple in the water, moving fast and heading toward us. I scrambled up and inched toward the edge of the rocks, "Octavia get out of the water!" I yelled.

"Get out the water now!" Before anyone could react the ripple reached Octavia and threw her into the air, causing her to scream before being drug under water. For what felt like hours, nothing happened, and then Octavia sprung from the water, screaming for her life. I rushed to the edge of the water and without a second thought, jumped in.

From a distance I could hear the muffled voices of Clarke and the others, Clarke stopped Finn from jumping in after me and suggested they distract it. I pushed forward, trying to remember all the times I had wished I could swim like the Little Mermaid in Hans Christian Andersen's story, in the open ocean with nobody tying me up or forcing me down. Of course, she had a fin, but I had a lot of time on my hand and I formulated my own hypothesis of what swimming would be like. It seemed pretty simple at the time, but as water surrounded me and filled my lungs, I was second guessing myself.

I swung my arms and kicked my legs in desperation and was surprised to find myself actually moving. Just as I reached Octavia, I heard a large crack, followed by a splash and a few small bangs as Clarke and the others pushed a large rock into the water, desperately trying to divert the water creature's attention.

I threw my arm out and gasped in surprise as it met Octavia's slick arm. I closed my hand around her arm with all my strength and felt as she grabbed my shoulder, dragging my along with her as the creature swung around. My heart dropped as I realized their distraction hadn't worked. In an instant my free hand reached out, coming into contact with head of the scaly monster, right next to its jaws which held Octavia by the leg.

The all too familiar sensation pulsed from my heart and through my arm, compacting with its skin and sending a strong vibration through the water. The creature let go of Octavia and quickly swam away. She screamed, still in shock and flailing her arms about, making it very hard to hold her up.

I ignored the excruciating throb in my head and wrapped my arm around Octavia, "Octavia! Octavia! I'm here, calm down. We need to get the shore." I tried to calm her down, beginning to hyperventilate myself.

"Over here." Clarke called several feet away from the edge of the rocks. I pushed with all of my strength and we only moved a couple of inches.

"It's coming back!" Finn yelled in warning.

My skin crawled as I could hear it slicing through the water. Blood rose in the water and I knew it was mine as well as Octavia's, hopefully no one would notice. What would my secret matter if we died anyway? We were so close, with one last push I shoved Octavia onto a rock and climbed up myself. Just as I looked down, I saw all too well as the creature swam past us and back into the depths of the water.

I pulled us both a little farther from the edge of the rock and collapsed. Octavia seemed to be hyperventilating and as the others ran to join us, I noticed where the monster had grabbed her, leaving a large bite mark the size of my hand in her leg. Clarke immediately crouched down to survey the damage, pulling a strip of material from the bottom of Jasper's shirt. As she worked to tie off the wound, Octavia grabbed me into a tight hug, thanking me.

"You're gonna be ok." Clarke assured Octavia.

"Hey Alice, way to make us all look bad." Monty cracked, patting my shoulder. I just breathed and smiled along with Jasper, Clarke, and Finn, happy that we were all alive.

In truth, I had my own personal reasons for doing it. I wasn't going to let Octavia die after she just got her freedom. She deserved more than that.

I laid back down on my back, trying to catch my breath. Now that it was over, I could reflect on what I had just done. Note to self, water creatures are not cute and cuddly. The Little Mermaid was right to want legs.

After Octavia was patched up as best as Clark could manage and had her pants back on, much to the boys dismay, we decided to head back into the woods and take a break. There was no way anyone was crossing that river anytime soon. Everyone kind of just took a spot and sat in silence, too stunned to talk. Every once and a while Clarke would tend to Octavia's leg, making sure it was clean. Jasper and Monty sat close together, nervously cracking jokes and Finn stayed close to Clarke, trying to help as best he could. I took a spot a slight way away from everyone, in need of a little privacy.

After a life of nearly complete solitude, I wasn't used to all the companionship, however bad of an excuse they were for companions. As the sun began to set, they all began to nod off, their energy from the adrenaline filled day ebbing away. I myself could not sleep, after all I had been doing it for nearly half of my life. Sometimes I dreamt I was Sleeping Beauty. After all, I had been pricked by a needle of sorts and put to sleep for a long time. I had only just recently woken up, and believe me, it was no prince who rescued me.

As the sun finally set, I couldn't help but gasp. The forest I had begun to think was truly evil incarnate became the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was as if it came alive, glowing in the dark with radiation. Of all the horrible things radiation had caused, somehow this beautiful forest had made something good of it. I silently got up, careful not to wake anyone, and walked further into the glowing forest.

I could hear the running water of the river in the distance, along with what I could only imagine to be insects and various other wildlife. It was amazing. So much better than the hum of machines and engines. For the first time, I felt calm, like everything might just turn out ok for me. For all of us.

I ran my hand along a glowing mushroom growing from a tree and jumped as the tips of my fingers seemed to absorb the glowing substance form the mushroom. The blue light spread towards my upper arm, then receded back to my fingertips and disappeared. I looked back at the mushroom as it slowly regained its glow.

"Wow." I jumped a second time as Octavia approached me from behind, limping. I hid my hand behind my back and smiled nervously.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked, seemingly oblivious to my little light show.

"Uh, yeah." I replied lamely.

"Do you think it's dangerous?"

"What could we do if it was?"

"Good point."

I looked down at my feet, not much for conversations. I only had one person to talk to on the Arc, and they had turned out to be the biggest disappointment in my life, and that was really saying something.

"Back there, in the water… I just wanted to say thank you again." Octavia fortunately didn't seem to suffer the same antisocial struggles as myself.

"Anyone would have done the same thing. Besides, how ironic would it be for you to finally get your freedom then die?" I regretted the words as soon as they came out and winced, waiting for her answer.

Octavia laughed, "Yeah, that totally would suck. Wouldn't want to die a virgin."

My eyes widened, I didn't know much about the whole sex thing, but what I did know was enough to convince me it wasn't as casual as Octavia was making it out to be.

"I take it you're in the same position." It wasn't a question.

"There wasn't much time for… you know… where I was." I answered.

"About that, you seem different than the others. Not really delinquent material if you know what I mean." She nudged my shoulder, smiling.

My heart felt as if it were about to rip out of my chest, had I been that different? Already questions were being asked. Although, Octavia seemed to be much more perceptive than she looked. Faces of disgust flashed through my mind, directed towards me. Until I could find a way out, no one could know who I was.

"Don't sweat it. I won't tell your secret." Octavia smiled. I knew she was joking, yet I couldn't help but feel a nag at the back of my mind.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Time to get your shit together Alice. I faked a laugh and nudged her back.

"Let's go back to the others before they wake up and think we've gone missing." I grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the glowing trees. Thankfully, no one had woken, still lying peacefully under the trees. I helped Octavia down onto the ground and hid my reluctance as she held my arm in hers, forcing me to settle down next to her. I won't admit that deep down my heart ached a little. No one had treated me like this in a long time.

"Night, Alice." Octavia muttered, already nodding off onto my shoulder.

"Goodnight, Octavia." I said, even though she was already asleep. I leaned my head against the tree we had sat in front of and looked into the sky above.

After everyone had woken at the peak of dawn, Clarke fussed over Octavia once more before we all headed off to look for a way across the river. Although Monty had suggested we go back to camp and come another time, Clarke had insisted that we continue on. Octavia now leaned on Jasper as we walked down the edge of the river.

After about thirty minutes of silent walking, Finn exclaimed, "Look!" Pointing to a large vine hanging from a tree, Finn eagerly climbed up a pile of rocks and yanked on the growth.

"Anyone up for a swing?" He asked happily.

"Are you kidding me?" Clark asked in disbelief, "There is no way that's going to work!"

"Speak for yourself." Jasper transferred Octavia to me and climbed the rocks up after Finn. Boys.

I vaguely remembered a wild man named Tarzan in the books I read who swung from vines to travel through the jungle. I smirked as I imagined Finn and Jasper in loincloths swinging from a vine.

For a moment, the two boys giddily discussed who would go first and how they would do it. Finn eventually won the argument and prepared to go first. He pulled on the vine and stared at the lake, then at the trees, then the sky.

"You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling" Clarke teased Finn smiling, "Mount Weather Awaits."

"Just hang on until the apogee and you'll be fine." Jasper assured Finn.

"The apogee. Like the Indians right?" Finn joked nervously.

"Apogee, not Apache." Jasper retorted.

"He knows. Today Finn." Clarke warned, joking. I think.

"Aye, aye Captain." Finn saluted and pulled on the rope, testing it, then turned to Jasper, "See you on the other side."

Just as he was about to do it, Jasper called, "Wait!"

"What?"

"Let me." I rolled my eyes. He was obviously trying to show off for Octavia. Maybe there really was no hope for humanity.

A tingle ran down my spine and the smile was instantly wiped off my face. I looked across the river, straining to see. I could faintly hear the others as they encouraged Jasper. Something wasn't right. I turned to stop Jasper just as he jumped, flying across the river.

He yelled in excitement as he sailed across, then landed rather ungracefully on the other side. My heart pounded as a ringing sounded in my ears. Everyone cheered and Finn handed the vine he had snagged to Clarke and encouraged her. I watched Jasper cautiously as he crouched down, seemingly looking at something that had caught his eye on the ground.

Jasper raised a strange piece of metal into the air and yelled, "We did it! Mount Weather!" I could barely make out what it said, but Mount Weather was clearly written atop the sign. Everyone sighed in relief, but my heart stopped as the wind stilled, sending a chill down my body all the way to my toes.

The spear went straight through his chest. I couldn't breath as the others gasped in disbelief. Jasper was thrown back several feet, his eyes wide open in shock, staring at the huge spear gaping from his body.

Everyone panicked, calling his name, but I stood still, desperately searching the trees for the source of the spear. Finn grabbed Clarke as she screamed for Jasper and pulled her away, "Come on. Move it."

Finn led the way and we followed, I grabbed Octavia and ran with her, helping her as much as I could. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other.

"Get down, get down." I pulled us all behind a large rock and stopped dead in my tracks as I heard rustling in the woods. Someone was out there.

"We're not alone." I gasped.


	3. Episode 2 Part 1

_I desperately struggled against the fogginess clouding my head. If I could just wake up, maybe I could make it out of here. Then I would finally be free. Free from the pain that I could feel coursing through my veins. With my eyes still forced shut, I shakily gasped a dry heave of air into my parched mouth and tried to swallow, but couldn't. Every joint in my body felt as if it had been dislocated and put into a shredder._

_Thankfully, they had trusted me enough by now to leave after the treatments. There was no point in watching over an unconscious little girl and the various monitors hooked up to my body would alert them if anything went wrong. My heart monitor spiked but that was normal. After a treatment, I usually suffered terrifying nightmares, unable to wake from the paralyzing liquid they injected into every major blood vessel of my body._

_They didn't know I had overheard them three nights before. I had feigned sleep while she argued with him over me. I had only just recently begun to wake consciously from the treatments before my body was able to catch up. I hadn't told them how much the treatments were improving, if they knew I was responding, they would just up the dosage._

_"The subject is becoming curious. Suspicious of my dedication. If this continues, we may need to proceed with the anesthetic. It could make testing much easier." She spoke bluntly, so much different than the caring voice I was used to._

_"I'm not so sure I agree Laura, treatments are unpredictable, we need her fully conscious for a detailed response analysis. None of us could have known how this would turn out, but you said it yourself, she has mutated. What she is capable of is incredible. She could be the key to our future." I was all too familiar with the cold and lifeless voice of the man. He had done all of this to me, never showing any sympathy. No, it was something much more terrifying that I saw on his face as he cut me open. Excitement._

_"Whatever you decide, her questions must be subdued. She has reached a proper age to mature and I have taught her as much as I could in this short twelve years. When they are ready, she is prepared to be sent down to Earth." I listened as her feet shuffled, closer to where I lay on the hard bed. My heart monitor spiked and they quitted._

_"I must report to the Council. Tend to her once she awakes then find me later." My heart monitor continued to beep uncontrollably as he silently left the room and I felt her hand cover mine. I forced myself to calm down and after several minutes, cracked my eyes open. Now was the time I usually awakened, unaware of my surroundings and scared to death._

_Thankfully, my expression reached the right amount of terrified, but this time it was for different reasons. This time the nightmare was real._

_For three days now I had forced myself to pretend like everything was normal, no longer asking any questions of what the world was like outside of the room I had been confined to my entire life._

_Now I struggled to open my eyes once again after my second treatment of the day. I would not let them put me to sleep, doing who knows what to my body. Of course I had never given them permission before, but I had gone along with it because it was the only life I knew. And she was always there for me. Laura. The only woman in the Arc that I had believed to care for me. Not anymore. Now I knew the truth. Not only were they contemplating putting me in a coma, they planned to send me down to Earth._

_I just needed to get out of this room. Out and into the rest of the Arc. If I could expose myself maybe somebody would help me. Before, Laura had told me that no one knew about me, I was her special little secret and she wanted it to stay that way. That's why I wasn't even allowed to talk to the guards that I sometimes caught a glimpse of outside my door. Guards I knew that would be standing there in a few moments when I opened the door._

_Laura had not shown up today, she had been gone much more frequently than normal. I finally succeeded in fighting past the wave of dizziness and struggled to sit up. Despite the growing pressure in my head from raising so fast, I turned in the bed and winced as my feet touched the cold ground._

_This was it, I would only have a few seconds after I detached the awful monitors to get to the door. If I didn't escape, I would die trying. The door was pure steel, probably impossible to open without a key card or password, but I had a little leverage._

_I ripped the needles and tubes from my body, gasping as blood spurted everywhere, covering the awful white gown I wore. Then I was off. It was only four or five steps to the door, but it felt like an eternity before I reached it. Once my shaking hands reached the hard door, I pushed._

_My arms trembled as a surge of power lept through them, impacting with the door and sending it flying through the air. I heard a grunt as the guard who had been leaning on the door went flying with it. I took one step out into the open cold of a dark room and ran._

_I was free._


	4. Episode 2 Part 2

We were trapped. I could feel the predator moving through the trees, following us as we crashed through the forest. But why wasn't it attacking? It seemed like it was testing us, just watching. I gripped Octavia as close as I could and ran deeper into the forest. I heard Finn call to Clarke from behind and turned to see she had tried to go back for Jasper. I myself had thought about scaling the river on the vine, but realized it was pointless, there was no way I could carry Jasper back over the river in one piece even if he wasn't already dead and there were five more of us that were in danger as well. If only we could find cover, then we could figure out what we needed to do.

Up ahead, Monty tripped on something and went down hard. I gently let loose of Octavia and we both struggled to lift him, "Get up!"

My grip tightened as I saw what Monty had tripped over and nearly fallen on. The rib of a skeleton lay among an assortment of other bones, dirtied and rotting. The stench of sickness filled my nose and I almost gagged.

"Who are they?" Finn asked in disgust and fear.

I turned to Clarke who had picked up what I feared to be a skull. My stomach dropped as I saw that it was definitely not completely human, something between a mix of a monkey and human "What are they?"

"We're so screwed." Octavia muttered, gripping my shoulder.

The awful screams of Jasper broke the silence and Clarke dropped the skull, "Jasper, he's alive." Then she took off despite the pleas of Finn to wait.

I an after her, dragging Octavia and grabbed her arm with my free hand, "Wait! Stay in the trees." She nodded in affirmation and bile rose in my throat as I looked across the river. Jasper was gone.

"He was right there!" Octavia said in disbelief, "Where is he?"

"They took him." Clarke muttered.

"We have to get out of here. Go back to the camp and get help." I pleaded with Clarke. Whatever these things were, they were much more capable than us. Obviously an animal wouldn't be intelligent enough to make a spear and set a trap, as this predator was obviously doing.

Clarke looked reluctantly to the spot where Jasper had last been seen, "Let's go." Finn dragged Clarke away and we followed. Everyone was silent as we traversed back through the forest the way we came. Clarke had shrugged Finn's comforting arm off of her shoulder and was now reading the map to take us back to the camp.

The temperature seemed to have dropped, causing the clammy sweat on my body to stick in some very unpleasant places. This was more movement than I had done in my entire life, being confined to one room. The drugs I had been given had kept me in perfect health physical wise. I have no idea how Octavia was managing on the other hand. Being locked in the floor could really take a toll on you. And there was the whole getting eaten by a giant snake thing.

After several minutes of a fast paced jog, we slowed down to a fast walk. I tried my best to help Octavia as much as possible, I can't imagine how uncomfortable her leg must have been, rubbing against the harsh fabric of her pants. Blood ran down her leg, reopened from the excitement.

Some of the scenery started to look familiar as we finally reached the outskirts of the camp. Clarke and the others raced ahead as I struggled to get Octavia down a steep edge.

"Wells! Let him go!" Clarke yelled as we came upon Wells holding the angry boy from earlier at knifepoint by the neck. I was going to call him Grumpy from now on. From what it looked like, they both got in a few hits. No doubt the other boy had started it. Wells looked terrified, only as if he were trying to protect himself.

Clarke ran straight into the altercation and after a silent exchange, Wells forcefully pushed the the boy away. Before the boy could go after Wells again, Bellamy appeared and held him back. I realized that everyone had been standing around staring, doing nothing to stop what could have been a murder.

Octavia grunted as we both jumped from a small ledge and onto level ground. Bellamy immediately forgot the boy and ran up to us. He gave me a quick worried look before reaching for Octavia, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Octavia nodded to me in appreciation and let Bellamy support her, "Where's the food?" Bellamy asked aggravated.

Everyone stood still, lost at how to possibly explain, "We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Finn sighed as he sat on a rock.

"What the hell happened out there?" Bellamy asked, growing angrier by the second.

"We were attacked." I said quietly. Bellamy looked to me then back to his sister, "Attacked? By what?"

"Not what. Who. Turns out we're not the only ones down here" Finn spoke up.

Bellamy looked to Octavia in disbelief, "It's true."

"Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here. Survivors. The good news is, that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us." Everyone began to crowd around, listening intently. I couldn't help but slightly intake at the mention of radiation. I felt exposed, as if everyone knew what I was.

"The bad news is the Grounders will." Finn grimly added to Clarke's inspiring speech.

Now I not only had to protect myself from a bunch of juvenile delinquents, but who knows how many murdering crazy radiation filled predators.

"Where is the kid with the goggles?" Wells looked around, just noticing Jasper was not in our party. I ground my teeth and looked down.

"Jasper was hit. They took him." Clarke shuffled, looking as uncomfortable and apprehensive as I felt. Whispers sounded around the camp.

"Where's your wristband?" Clarke grabbed for Wells' wrist, pulling the sleeve up and seeing that nothing was there. I leaned in, waiting for his answer.

"Ask him." Wells nodded to Bellamy in resentment. So that was what he had been planning. I quickly put the pieces together.

"How many?' Clarke advanced on Bellamy, like a little blonde Tasmanian devil. I almost laughed at the fear on his face.

"Twenty-four and counting." Grumpy spoke up, blood running down his face.

I didn't really know what to think. If Bellamy could convince everyone to abandon their wrist bands, the Arc wouldn't come down. I had my own reasons for ditching the wristband, but what about the others. Everyone on the Arc would die, although I resented those few people I had known in space, I couldn't condemn them all. I couldn't accept that they would all die. They had to know it was ok to come down. However, that would have to be a job for Clarke, I had my own problems to deal with.

"You idiots." Clark whispered in disbelief. I surveyed Clarke once again. She must have had someone she cared about up in the Arc. Someone she wanted to see again, unlike most of the others. Including me.

"Life support on the Arc is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands you're not just killing them. You're killing us!" Clarke now addressed everybody. I agreed with her.

Bellamy quickly stepped forward in retaliation, "We're stronger than you think. Don't listen to her, she's one of the privileged. If they come down she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm, it makes you a prisoner. We're not prisoners anymore. They say they'll forgive your crimes, I say you're not criminals! You're fighters! Survivors! The Grounders should worry about us." Cheers of agreement sounded through the camp. I had to give it to him, the guy was a pretty good motivational speaker. But I knew he had a hidden agenda behind it all. He didn't want the others to come down to save his own skin. He had just made a very convincing manipulation of the situation. I could almost believe him. But as I saw the blood on the Grump's face, I knew that these really were criminals, and teenagers at that.

Clarke looked around horrified at the the others and stormed away, followed by Monty and Wells close behind him. Finn nodded to me then followed Wells into the drop ship. The rest of the campers started to slowly disperse. I started to follow after Clarke, but was pulled back by Octavia, "Bellamy, meet my knight in shining armor. Alice." Octavia happily shoved me in the direction of Bellamy. I managed to stop myself before I stumbled right into his chest.

"Alice." Bellamy nodded stiffly and Octavia grunted as she took a seat on a rock, sticking her injured leg out.

I immediately turned to her and spoke to Bellamy, "Do you have a wet cloth?"

Bellamy looked around questioningly then produced a piece of cloth from his pants pocket, I reached out to grab it and had to contain myself when our fingers touched. This was the first time I had come into contact with a teenage boy. Give me a break.  
>As I kneeled on one side and ripped the material of her jeans further down to look at the injury, Bellamy sat down on the other side of the rock and looked at the blood wearily. I gently padded the blood and winced as Octavia groaned, her leg shaking.<p>

"What the hell was it?" Bellamy asked tiredly.

"I don't know." Octavia answered between breaths.

"It was like some giant snake. It felt awful." I mumbled, looking up to Bellamy and meeting his eyes for only a moment.

"Wait, you felt it? Were you in there too?" Bellamy looked slightly approving.

"I told you. My knight in shining armor. She jumped in and sucker punched the thing in the face. Then taught herself to swim in two seconds and drug me back to shore!" Octavia smiled and patted me on the shoulder like a dog.

"You could have been killed." Bellamy admonished his sister after giving me what I thought was a nod thank you.

"She would have been if Alice didn't jump in to pull her out." Clarke approached from behind, followed by Wells and Finn.

"Are you guys leaving? I'm coming too." Octavia raised to follow them but was stopped by Bellamy who pushed her back down on the rock.

"No, no. Now way. Not again."

"He's right, you're leg's just going to slow us down." Clarke said cooly. Man was that girl on a mission, "I'm here for you."

"Clarke what are you doing?" Wells warned.

"I hear you have a gun." Bellamy lifted his shirt in affirmation and I recoiled slightly. How had he managed that? I had only ever seen a gun once before and it had been one time too many. The things might make you feel strong and in control when you're using them, but it was a whole different story when they were pointed at you.

"Good, follow me." Clarke turned and walked away, expecting Bellamy to follow.

"Why would I do that?" Bellamy stood his ground.

"Because you want them to follow you and right now they're thinking only one of us is scared." I was beginning to see the badass side of Clarke.

"Murphy, come with me. Adam, my sister doesn't leave this camp, is that clear?" Bellamy had been convinced. All it took was a jab at his authority. So Grumpy's real name was Murphy huh? I liked Grumpy better. Another boy stepped forward, he must be Adam.

"I don't need a babysitter." Octavia fixed her pants and stared defiantly.

"Anyone touches her, they answer to me." Bellamy warned Adam who nodded in understanding.

"Let's go." Bellamy ordered and walked away. I took one last glance at Octavia then followed. There was no way I wasn't going to try and help Jasper. Not if I could help it.

"You don't much seem like the rescuing type." I observed aloud as I matched pace with Bellamy.

He glared at me then replied, "The Arc thinks the Prince is dead. I'd say if the Princess is too, they'll never come down." I saw Clarke look back menacingly then continued walking.

Then in a lower voice that I could barely here he added, "I'm getting that wristband, even if I have to cut off her arm to get it." Grumpy grinned maliciously and Bellamy increased his pace to catch up with Clarke. Oh this was going to be fun.

If only he knew that my wristband was the one that would bring the Arc down here. But he didn't have to worry, it was coming off as soon as I could get a chance.

"Hey hold up!" As Bellamy, Grumpy, and I caught up to Clarke, he raised his gun smiling and asked, "What's the rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart."

"Murphy, come with me. Adam, my sister doesn't leave this camp, is that clear?" Bellamy had been convinced. All it took was a jab at his authority. So Grumpy's real name was Murphy huh? I liked Grumpy better. Another boy stepped forward, he must be Adam.

"I don't need a babysitter." Octavia fixed her pants and stared defiantly.

"Anyone touches her, they answer to me." Bellamy warned Adam who nodded in understanding.

"Let's go." Bellamy ordered and walked away. I took one last glance at Octavia then followed. There was no way I wasn't going to try and help Jasper. Not if I could help it.

"You don't much seem like the rescuing type." I observed aloud as I matched pace with Bellamy.

He glared at me then replied, "The Arc thinks the Prince is dead. I'd say if the Princess is too, they'll never come down." I saw Clarke look back menacingly then continued walking.

Then in a lower voice that I could barely here he added, "I'm getting that wristband, even if I have to cut off her arm to get it." Grumpy grinned maliciously and Bellamy increased his pace to catch up with Clarke. Oh this was going to be fun.

If only he knew that my wristband was the one that would bring the Arc down here. But he didn't have to worry, it was coming off as soon as I could get a chance.

"Hey hold up!" As Bellamy, Grumpy, and I caught up to Clarke, he raised his gun smiling and asked, "What's the rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart."

As we drew closer, I knew what had caught his attention. A waterfall. As beautiful as I could have imagined, "Well at least we don't have to worry about water." I turned to face Clarke and Finn, smiling. A wicked grin crossed Finn's face as he stared at me and Clarke, then he walked across the stones and into the water.

I followed and soon found myself knee deep in chilly water. The Arc didn't have showers and it had been a very long time since I remembered cleaning myself. I raised my arms and fell back into the water, causing a rather large splash and prompting laughs from Clarke and Finn. The water felt amazing now that I wasn't being chased by a mutant serpent. It was like magic, floating in the smooth waves of the pool.

Clarke bent down to fill up the water container and Finn splashed her with the water, "Come on guys, we don't have time for this." She admonished, now serious.

"Clarke, we've been hiking for hours. It's time to take a break." Finn replied with a smile.

"I'll take a break when we find Jasper. Come on."

Finn winked at me then grabbed for Clarke, pulling her into the water despite her threats, "Damnit Finn!" Clarke splashed his face and struggled in the water. As she finally felt what I had just experienced, her demeanor changed, "Oh wow, maybe just a minute." She said smiling.

I laughed in accordance with Finn and swam over to small rock jutting from the water.

"I think I know why you're so hell bent on finding Jasper, why you're always taking care of everybody else." Finn spoke low and I took the hint, looking around at everything but them. I didn't have to tune them out for long as I saw something that made my stomach twist. I jumped on the rock and walked over to a small space covered in red.

"Guys." I called, nearly hyperventilating. I knew too well what it was. Blood. My dreams had been stained with it since before I could remember. Usually it was mine. It covered the rocks and one particularly haunting handprint lay on the top. Clarke noticed something and reached down below the rocks, pulling out a familiar pair of goggles, "Jasper. He was here, we should get the others."

This was Jasper's blood. There was so much of it. I forced my eyes to look away as Finn followed Clarke away from the rocks. We soon found Bellamy and the others and Clarke told them about the bloody rocks. With new purpose, we quickly came upon what seemed like an open road.

"How did we know this is the right way?" The ever optimistic Grumpy piped up.

"We don't. Spacewalker thinks he is a tracker." Bellamy replied, annoyed.

"It's called cutting sign. Fourth year Earth skills. He's good." Wells retorted.

I winced at the mention of school. It reminded of just how different I was from these people. I had obviously not been allowed to attend and was seriously lacking in the whole academics department. Everything I knew was from literature, mostly children's story.

"You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your back." Finn turned around angrily. I ignored the conversation as my fingers started to twitch. Before I could say anything, Finn came upon a broken twig from a branch. He crouched down to see a small splatter of blood on the ground. An awful call sounded from the trees, "What the hell was that?"

"Now would be a good time to take out that gun." Clarke spoke to Bellamy, wildly searching the trees.

My feet started to move of their own accord, taking me into the a jumble of trees. I was relieved to hear the others following close behind, but stopped dead in my tracks as I emerged from the trees to behold Jasper. Shirtless, bloody, and tied to a horrific and tangled tree. The sight was horrific. He seemed to barely be breathing and as I glanced at his purple hands from being tied up, awful memories flashed through my head of my own blood clogged hands.

"Jasper? Oh my God! Jasper!" Clarke rushed to reach him but Finn grabbed her back.

I rushed past the both of them and gasped as the world fell out from underneath me. I flung my hands out, grabbing for something. Anything. And felt my body yank in two as something grabbed my arm. I looked up to see Bellamy, panting but holding my arm with a grip of steel. The sleeve of my shirt rolled back underneath Bellamy's hand and I saw as he glanced down. His eyebrows furrowed and I knew what he saw. Mauled flesh covered in bruises and track marks. I heard others yelling to pull me up then felt myself being lifted as they grabbed Bellamy and pulled him back.

"Alice!" Clarke gasped, grabbing my shoulder. I nodded, and self consciously pulled both of my sleeves down as far as they could go. Bellamy stood close beside me, still looking confusedly at my arms. Finn helped my up and I looked down the hole I had almost fell in. Spikes jutted out from the bottom. That would have hurt.

A moan from Jasper brought my attention back to him, "We need to get him down."

"I'll climb up there and cut the vines." Finn said determinedly.

"Yeah I'm with you." Wells made to follow him.

"No. Stay with Alice and Clarke. And watch him." Finn nodded to Bellamy in disgust, "You. Let's go." Grumpy followed Finn behind the tree.

"There's a poultice on his wound." Clarke observed. A green mess of herbs was packed on Jasper's wound.

"Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Wells asked.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes it's dinner to be breathing." Bellamy retorted.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us." I said quietly.

Finn and Grumpy slowly made their way up the tree and began to cut the vines. What sounded like an animal came from the growth behind the tree and Grumpy looked up in alarm, "What the hell was that?"

"Grounders?" Bellamy nervously offered. Suddenly. from behind the brush we had come from, a huge cat came slinking towards us. It's jaws were bigger than my head and every inch of its huge lean body seemed to be covered in muscles.

"Bellamy! Gun!" Clarke cried. He reached for the gun but it was gone.

A shot rang right next to me, making me jump. At some point, Wells had stolen the gun and now unsuccessfully fired at the animal, only hitting it once in the hide. It ran into the cover of some brush and everything stilled for a moment. Bellamy stared into the growth, looking to see if it was alive, then with a terrifying roar, it jumped at him. Another shot rang and the animal fell mid air.

Bellamy stood, too stunned to move and looked to Wells who dropped the now empty gun, "Now she see's you." Bellamy nodded towards Clarke. Whatever that was about.

A shuffle drew my attention back to Grumpy and Finn, who had finally gotten Jasper down and now carried him by the arms over to us.

"Let's get back to camp." Finn offered.

"Wait, first we take our prize." Bellamy smiled and lightly kicked the dead cat. Grumpy abandoned Jasper and roughly took the bag Clarke had been carrying and pulled out a large tarp. As I took Grumpy's place in holding up Jasper, the two proceeded to wrap up the carcass and heave it above their shoulders.

"Looks like we're eating tonight." Grumpy smiled and lead the way back to camp.

"My stomach did a half rumble half flip at the thought of eating the cat. Hunting wasn't really a thing on the Arc, considering we were in space, and even then I was locked up in a room the whole time. After all, I always despised the hunters in Bambi. I remembered the razor sharp teeth on the cat and decided that it was nothing like Bambi.

It was nightfall before we neared the camp. Finn and I carrying Jasper and Bellamy and Grumpy carrying the cat. Clarke and Wells lead the way through the dark. I don't know how they did it. I wasn't one for directions. In my room there was only three steps left, four steps right, and five steps forward.

"They're back." Someone called from inside the camp. I inhaled the sweet smell of what I could only imagine a burning fire. Excited murmurs sounded through the camp as Clarke led me and Finn into the drop ship.

"Is he?" Monty was the first to approach, looking scared at Jasper. They were best friends. Also something I had never had.

"He's alive." Clarke assured Monty, "I need boiled water and strips of cloth for bandage."

Clarke opened the tarp covering the entry of the dropship and led us in. We set Jasper on top of a stack of tarps Clarke had hurriedly laid out and I rose. This wasn't my scene. I never wanted to be confined again. Clarke seemed to notice my unease and said, "I can take it from here, you can go back outside."

As I emerged from the drop ship, Bellamy and Grumpy dropped the cat on the ground for all to see with triumphant smiles on their face. Exclamations of awe sounded and Bellamy raised his hands into the air, "Who's hungry?" Cheers followed. An almost unnoticeable look of exhaustion crossed Bellamy's face, but was quickly covered with a fake, pleased grin as his eyes met mine. He wrapped his arm around Octavia and the others picked up the cat, deciding who was going to prepare it. Soon, everyone was gathered around the fire, talking of nothing but the cat.

I took a seat close to the drop ship, just in case Clark needed anything and watched as the others conversed. It was so strange, watching how normally they interacted with eachother. While all of them had been through something, none of them knew the pain that I had. They hadn't had their entire life taken away from them like I had.

As I stared into the dancing flame, my eyes slowly drooped. I tried to fight it, I didn't want to ever sleep again, but I failed miserably. My arms fell to my side and my body slumped as I finally dozed off to the distant chatter around the fire.

I jumped at the sound of Clarke's voice, "He's stable for now, but without medicine…" My eyes quickly adjusted to the dark light. Beside the fire, a stack of wristbands had begun to pile up, a boy winced as another pried his wristband from him and was awarded a piece of cooked meat by a smiling Bellamy. I went to stand up and realized that a small tarp had been draped across my lap while I was asleep. Who had done that?

"They're taking off their wristbands for food? No way. I won't do it." Clarke declared.

"You won't have to." Finn said grimly and walked straight up to the fire, grabbing a piece of meat.

"Wha.. Wha.. Wait! You think you play by different rules?" Grumpy stopped Finn by grabbing his hand.

Finn pulled away and dangerously replied, "I thought there were no rules."

Grumpy just stared dumbly as Finn walked away. From a distance, Bellamy sent a death stare towards Finn as he returned to Clarke. A boy walked up to the fire, reaching for his own piece, and revealing that he still wore his wristband. Bellamy grabbed the boy by the hand and drew back, punching him in the face. Everyone stilled and I jumped a little. Bellamy gave a warning glare to anyone that dare defy him and stormed off.

As the camp slowly settled back into an uneasy calm, I rose from my resting place and ventured into the woods, illuminated by the full moon. The chatter of the camp had become a little overwhelming, almost like the constant buzzing of a machine engine. I just wanted to hear the peaceful noises of the forest again.

A tingling sensation throbbed at the back of my neck and I immediately looked to the trees in fright. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw the outline of a man, sitting on a branch. Then a hand grabbed my shoulder and I nearly jumped three feet into the air.

"Relax. Hey, Alice, it's me!" I turned to find a smiling Bellamy, raising his arms in a show of peace. I rustle sounded where I had seen the shadow and a bird flew from the tree. I must have been imagining it.

"Are you scared of birds?" Bellamy asked, teasing.

"I thought I saw something." I defended myself lamely.

"Right. So, I never got to properly thank you for saving Octavia." He looked into my eyes and I remembered that he had seen my arms. I crossed them self consciously, which only brought his attention to them.

"Thank you..." After a moment of awkward silence I added, "For saving me I mean. Back at the tree."

"I couldn't pass up the chance to save a pretty girl. Besides, we're even now." It was strange how his mind worked. All that "eye for an eye" stuff. Nevermind the compliment. I just stood there like a dumb girl and squeeked as he reached for my hand. I actually squeeked. Wow. One minute alone with a guy and I was squeeking.

"Why don't we take this off." His thumb rubbed the cold metal on my wrist. And there it was. The real reason he was talking to me. He only wanted the wristband.

I looked into his dark brown eyes and nodded. The wristband similar to one that I had pulled out long ago was only a menace. But the minute I took it off, I was alone. When my vitals stopped transmitting to the Arc, it was all over.

With one squeeze of my hand, he gripped the wristband and tore it to pieces. I winced as the transmitter was removed from my skin, sending blood running down wrist and onto the ground. Bellamy pulled my hand forward and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, bunching it up and sticking my wrist to it. I immediately curled my fingers into a fist, not wanting to accidentally grab anything.

When I looked up, I found myself very close to his face, which was quite a few inches higher than mine, "That wasn't too bad." He murmured.

I was at a loss for words. Was this what flirting was? I have no idea. After what felt like an hour, he pulled my hand away and examined it. The bleeding had already stopped, leaving a few small flakes of dried blood, but the thing underneath the small incision is what made my heart stop.

A similar scar, but much larger. I hadn't been going for precision when I pulled the thing out five years ago. Bellamy raised my hand to see closer, noticing the scar. I yanked my arm away and stepped back.

"Wait, Alice!" Bellamy called, but it was too late. I ran into the darkness


	5. Note to Readers

First of all, thank you guys so much for taking time to read my story. I know a lot of it has just been boring dialogue that hasn't strayed much from the original episodes, but now that Alice has been introduced things are about to get really personal and really exciting. I am open to any suggestions so please don't be afraid to review and let me know if I'm screwing it up! ;) What are you looking forward to? What did you wish could have happened already? Anything you guys have to say helps. Believe me, I want to know what you guys think!


	6. Episode 3 Part 1

_My hair used to be raven and my eyes were bright green. I had only ever seen my reflection through the warped steel walls of my cold room, but I knew I had changed. My waist-length wavy hair which I had begged them to let me grow out had slowly faded to a light brown. My eyes, which I had once been able to see clearly in the steel, had begun to glaze over to a misty gray. Everything that made me who I was had disappeared. Truthfully, I had never really known who I was. The painfully short hours in which I managed to stay awake were stolen by Laura and her books. Not that I could complain, she treated me like a normal person. Like a child. The others were less than friendly. Sometimes I caught a flash of pity cross their faces, but that was worse than the cold stares._

_The books were my only true escape. I had acquired a taste for literature very early and very fast, considering my "condition". The first five years of my life had been spent in constant fatigue and nausea, leaving little time for anything else. That was when Laura had begun to read to me, mostly children's stories. Once I recovered from five years of being bed ridden, he insisted that I receive a "proper education," in areas such as algebra and chemistry. Laura seemed to disagree, she valued knowledge found in literature that could be applied in "real life," which seemed pointless to me because I wasn't truly living. They eventually came to an agreement to integrate some science in with the regular readings. Despite Laura's efforts, I was going nowhere in the academic department._

_She seemed to hold a certain pull when it came to me. Although we definitely didn't maintain a normal relationship, perhaps the type between a mother and a daughter, she was the closest I had to one. Laura never hugged me or made any physical contact of the sort, other than the occasional pat on the hand. While she always seemed to be at my side, there were certain topics that had always been an unspoken taboo. And that was okay for the first few years, after the mind crippling treatments, it was fairly hard to retain any coherent thoughts beyond the simple stories Laura read to me. But I was growing more receptive to the injections and I was finally beginning to register my surroundings._

_I had no one to compare myself to, but I knew I was different. After all, you're bound to acquire a few distinct differences when you've been locked away your entire life. When I had turned seven, after constant questioning and nagging, Laura had briefly explained to me what lay beyond my little room of horrors. I could hardly believe the tale of how the Arc had come to exist and where we now sought refuge from the toxic Earth. After years of isolation, I had come to believe that there was no life or existence outside of my room. A room where time didn't seem to exist. That was my world._

_And now, as my ninth birthday arrived, I am finally able to function like a somewhat normal human being. I struggled to accept that the pain might finally be over. They had slowly began to condense the injections to once every other day now. Laura had hinted that if the treatments were to finally start working, I could finally leave that awful room. Accordingly, I wore a matching white shirt and pants because I wouldn't be receiving any treatments, which required a stiff white dress and nothing else. With the pants, I actually felt semi-normal, and no longer vulnerable to the uncomfortable examinations he constantly conducted._

_Laura slid in through the door, only giving me a minuscule glimpse of the darkness that lay beyond. I spotted movement as the guard shut the door behind her. I sat with one leg dangling from my white bed with two pillows propped up behind my back. My foot ticked in anticipation. As I had begun to gain consciousness, my unease and restlessness had increased. Sometimes I felt as if I could crawl up the walls with boredom. If it weren't for the handheld device that Laura left behind for me to read, I would have gone crazy long ago. That is to say I wasn't already crazy. _

_My room contained a pitiful two pieces of furniture, a bed and adjoining drawers filled with gowns, all hidden behind an assortment of medical machines. For fun, I would sometimes switch the machines around just to confuse him. He didn't like disorder. I lived for it. Even the smallest amount, because it was so much different than the constant I was used to._

_"Happy Birthday Alice." Laura smiled as she stood at the edge of my bed. He didn't like that we celebrated my birthday, perhaps it was something only meant for normal children in his eyes._

_"Thanks." I couldn't hide the dismay in my voice. Another year gone by and I was nowhere near closer to getting out. I thought I saw Laura's eye twitch. She never liked to hear me complain and I had been doing that a lot lately._

_"I brought you something." She pulled out a hand that she had been hiding behind her back to reveal a small object. I curiously jumped to the end of the bed, having been so accustomed to the tubes and wires connected to my body that I didn't even have to think to work around them. _

_Laura held a strange device that looked very similar to my reader, but attached to it was a long string, which split into two other strings, "What is it?"_

_"It plays music. It's only one of three that still survive from pre-Arc. Many of its files have been corrupted, but a few still play very well." I couldn't contain my excitement. Laura had told me about music about a year ago and after I begged for five days straight, she reluctantly sang a beautiful song she called Hurt by someone called Johnny Cash. I had never heard anything so emotional in my life. I was surprised that Laura had chosen such a sad ballad. Unfortunately, that was the only song Laura would sing, so I had never heard anything else like it. I had once tried to make my own song, but it didn't end well. Let's just say I'm not musically inclined._

_Laura messed with the music player for a while then handed it to me, "You put those in your ears." After a blank stare, Laura grabbed the two loose ends of the string and stuck them into my ear. Everything became slightly muffled and I looked to Laura in confusion. She smiled, rolling her eyes and pressed a button on the device._

_Immediately, a burst of noise filled my ears. I jumped slightly, but relaxed as the noise continued, turning into a melody much like the one Laura had once sung. A male's voice began to sing over the music and my heart dropped. I grabbed my chest as it constricted and my toes curled in delight. It was the first time I had ever experienced pure joy. _

_"They were called The Beatles on Earth. Very popular. The particular song you are listening to is called Let it Be." Laura explained as the song ended and I slowly pulled the listening strings out of my ears._

_"It's the most amazing thing I've ever heard." I said breathlessly._

_"Music was extremely popular on Earth, but once we were forced to take refuge on the Arc, it lost its demand." I couldn't imagine how anyone could forget such a beautiful thing._

_"This player is very important to me, but I'm going to let you keep it for tonight." My heart monitor spiked in reply to Laura's words. It was funny how something so small could prompt such strong emotions from me. _

_"Thank you so much Laura! I promise I'll take care of it!" I pulled it close to my chest, prepared to protect it from anything._

_"Alright, alright. I have to go now. The controls are fairly simple, you can figure them out yourself right?" _

_"Yes! Yes!" I looked down excitedly and started to experiment with the buttons._

_"Goodnight Alice." Laura didn't wait for a reply. I was so engrossed in the player that I didn't notice her leave. _

_The automatic timer in my room dimmed the lights and I scooted further into the bed. It wasn't long before I got the hang of the controls and I found myself sighing as Let it Be played again. I couldn't help but hope for a time that I could walk freely, no longer confined. The song somehow made it seem possible. I had hope._

_My hands crossed over my stomach, holding the player and I closed my eyes, letting out a happy sigh. I found myself drifting off, content to sleep for the first time in my life. And then, it all went to hell._

_My eyes flung open as I felt every nerve in my body tense. My muscles felt as if they were coiling in on themselves, so tight they were about to snap. Before I could stop myself, my body began to shake and convulse uncontrollably, flinging the music player across the room and sending machines flying everywhere. The air became nearly unbreathable and my throat seemed to close in on itself._

_Laura burst in the room, worry splattered across her face. She was terrified. Just as I was about to fall off of the bed, she held my arms down so painfully, I thought they might fall off. I choked up my own blood as I tried to speak. _

_"Alice, stop!" Laura pleaded. Before she could say anything else, an invisible wave burst from my body, hitting Laura square in the stomach and sending her flying into the door. I tried to sit up to see if she was alright, but my body seemed to be shutting down as a wave of exhaustion rolled over me._

_A tear rolled down my cheek and into my tangled mess of hair as everything went black._


	7. Episode 3 Part 2

I wiped at the unwanted tear falling down my cheek and was horrified to find that it was blood. That was new. I thought I had already suffered through every symptom and side effect possible. I had never really known what caused the seizures, but ever since my birthday that night, I had been at the mercy of my attacks for nearly two years. Laura had never mentioned the incident again and thankfully, none of my seizures had been as drastic as the first one. But after that, I was never the same. The invisible energy that had thrown Laura across the room never left me, always flowing through my veins.

Of course, I never let go like that again for a long time. The mere thought of it repulsed me. I was a freak. A monster they created. And now I had almost ruined the fresh start I had been given on Earth. Bellamy could never have guessed the whole truth, yet I could see the suspicion written clearly on his face. Everyone down here was dangerous in their own right, yet I was the one who could prove to be the biggest threat to their safety.

I sat propped up against a tree four times the width of myself. I could feel the hard bark of the tree through my shoulder length hair. I ran my hand through the thick layers. The ponytail I had arrived with had long been lost and it now lay in a brown heap of matted curls. Long ago, I had lost the beautiful long hair which I had cherished so much. When they took my hair, they took the last part of myself. One of the very few things that still let me believe I could be a normal girl.

The glowing forest illuminated my pale skin. I used to think freckles once scattered my skin, but it had been so long since I had seen myself, I really had no idea. For the first time since I had landed on Earth, I pulled the sleeves of my dark shirt just above my elbows. My mouth involuntarily turned down in a frown as I traced the bumps along my arm. Even before I had started to resist treatment, the seizures had resulted in quite a wear and tear on the needles which constantly pierced my skin.

The newest bruises had finally begun to fade to a yellow-green. After so many years of feeling weak and dependent, I was on my own. I had once bitterly thought that I could be Pinocchio, the wooden marionette who, despite having been tricked his entire life, found his dream of being a real boy. All I wanted was to be a real girl.

I was reminded all too well that that could never be as my hands sunk into the fresh soil of the forest and felt a pulse from the ground. I immediately knew what it was that silently lived and pulsed within every inanimate and living thing on Earth. Radiation. The forest was filled with it. My mind finally processed what I had been trying to avoid since we had left the ship. Radiation was everywhere and the others were still alive. Everything they had done to me. The inhumane treatments, the stolen years of my life, the lies. It was all for nothing.

In a daze, I rose from the resting stop I had collapsed upon and wandered back through the trees. As much as I was reluctant to, I needed to return to the camp. I had managed to space out for almost an entire night. The sky began to light as the stars disappeared and the glowing forest slowly dimmed. As I neared the camp and heard the few tired murmurs of those who had already woken, I made sure to pull my sleeves as far down as they could go and furiously wiped at the spot the blood had run down my face. There was no such thing as being too cautious.

"Alice! Hey, I was looking for you. Is everything alright?" Clarke emerged from behind a tree, wiping what I could only guess to be Jasper's blood from her hands.

"Yeah, how is he?" I only had to nod towards her hands for her her to understand.

"He's still breathing. The Grounders cauterized his wound, it saved his life." Her look of confusion and fear said everything. The Grounders weren't just savages protecting their territory. They were the top of the food chain in this forest and they were hunting us. Jasper had been kept alive as bait in a trap. For us.

"We have to protect ourselves from the Grounders. We have to survive." I offered.

"That's why we need weapons. Lots of them." Bellamy seemed to have a habit of coming out of nowhere. He only afforded me a short glance before turning to Clarke.

"And how do you propose we make them? Out of sticks and leaves." I slowly took a step back, trying to avoid being brought into the conversation. I could sense the tension between Clarke and Bellamy. They were the closest thing to a leader that we were going to get down here. Despite their very different methods of doing so, I knew that they both had the interests of the camp in mind. Bellamy's true motives might be questionable, but he seemed to know what he was doing more than most of us.

"The survival kits only had enough weapons for a few people. We can make the others with pieces from the ship. Anything will help. The meat from last night is already gone and we'll be useless against the Grounders if we're all starving to death."

For once, Clarke seemed to agree, "Do what you need to." Bellamy nodded to us both and walked back to a growing group of girls and boys including Grumpy that had already made their allegiance to Bellamy as their leader very clear.

It was true, we needed food and a way to protect ourselves, but the down side to the weapons was obvious. Give a group of deranged teenage delinquents weapons and there is bound to be trouble. I really hope Bellamy knew what he was getting himself into.

I was surprised to find that a large portion of the others had awoken and now busied themselves with anything they could find. Bellamy ordered people this way and that and before the sun had fully risen in the sky, several tents had been set up around the dropship and most everyone was working tirelessly to forge formidable weapons.

Perhaps they all felt the same as me. They had been given a second chance like the man on the transmitter screen had said. They weren't going to let that go so easily. We all had something at stake and despite what had been made of them as criminals, they were only teenagers fighting to survive. For the most part, I kept to myself and tried to help Clarke with Jasper as much as possible. His painful cries seemed to now be permanently stuck in my head, and everyone elses, much to their dismay.

A water supply had quickly been found just outside of the camp and I ran back and forth to bring water to Clarke when she needed it. Finn stayed with Clarke in the small room of the ship, helping in any way he could. The Arc must not have thought it necessary to pack medical equipment on the ship. An explanation as to why made me shutter. They hadn't expected they would need it. The radiation would have killed them long before they could find use of any medicine.

I sat outside of the ship in what seemed to be my new permanent post. Clarke and Finn had taken a break from watching Jasper, wandering off into the forest together. Monty was still in the ship, never leaving Jasper's side and Octavia had eventually left the ship and volunteered to help make weapons with the others.

Feeling useless, I forced myself to approach Octavia who sat by the snuffed out fire, furiously sharpening a small metal shard taken from the back of the ship, "If anyone pisses me off right now, I'm going to use this."

I cautiously sat beside her and gently pulled the sharp object from her hands, "Why don't I help you with that."

"Bellamy can't control me down here. I'm not going to hide this time." Octavia spoke beneath the cover of her long dark hair with her elbows resting on her knees. Her foot jumped up and down and after a while she looked back up, trying for a different mood to lighten the conversation. I could tell the smile was forced.

"Look, I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, I'm sure he was just trying to look out for you. I've seen you two and believe me, you're lucky you have someone like him." I brushed my thumb against the sharp edge of the metal, averting her eyes at all costs.

Octavia seemed to consider, then said, "Maybe, but I can take care of myself."

"Then prove it." I smiled and met her eyes for the first time. I tossed the shard into the air, catching it easily then set it down on top of a pile of similar sharp objects waiting to be made into effective weapons. After a quick look at the stack of completed weapons, I grabbed a small knife the size of my hand and dragged Octavia towards a cluster of trees.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Octavia seemed to have truly lightened her mood as a small smile played across her lips.

"I never do." Wasn't that the truth.

I couldn't help but smile as I awkwardly held up the knife and tried to find a comfortable position. A few years ago, I never could have imagined that I would be here, learning how to throw a knife.

"Any day." Octavia teased.

"Patience." I half heartedly muttered as I pulled the knife back and threw. It hit the tree with a small thunk and fell to the ground. Octavia tried to hide a snicker.

"Okay you try it then." I picked up the knife and handed it to Octavia, smiling.

With slightly more confidence than warranted, Octavia reared back and threw the knife. It hit the tree with a small thunk and fell to the ground.

"That was just for practice." Octavia laughed at her own expense and handed the weapon back to me. After several more unsuccessful minutes of taking turns throwing the knife, I was beginning to feel useless. If I couldn't offer knowledge to the others, physical labor was all I had.

"Okay, I swear I got it this time." I assured as Octavia rolled her eyes in disbelief. I took a deep breath and hurled the knife. A nearly unnoticeable spark left my fingers as the dagger left my hands and landed perfectly into the trunk of the tree.

"Wow." Octavia's mouth dropped and she walked up to the knife in the tree. My hands hung uselessly at my side. Maybe I was worth something after all.

"You can say that again." Bellamy walked up from behind the impaled tree and stood close to a newly annoyed Octavia.

"What's wrong, bro? Worried someone is actually better than you at something?" Octavia taunted as she laid her hand on the knife jutting out of the tree. Bellamy smirked and reached for the knife, then did a double take as it didn't budge. Octavia happily sauntered up to me and patted my shoulder.

"You're perfect... For hunting I mean." Bellamy tried to retrieve the knife again, this time with more effort, and finally pulled it out, twirling it between his fingers and continuing, "Several of us are heading out soon, you should come."

Without waiting for an answer, Bellamy awkwardly nodded to Octavia and walked away. Octavia rolled her eyes then followed after him with a quick nod to me. What was with this family and nods?

I didn't really know what to think about hunting. It was hard to get past the whole killing Bambi and his woodland friends. Plus, it wouldn't be for my benefit, I rarely got hungry due to years of being injected only the essential nutrition. I had never eaten a solid piece of food in my life. Even though it had always been that way, I never got used to the complete embarrassment or the lack of privacy during the treatments. Until the later years of my life, the injections had left me so crippled that I had become completely reliant on the use of catheters.

There was no telling what would happen when I finally had to resort to eating real food. Nevertheless, the entire camp would starve without it and they couldn't thrive on berries and herbs. It was worth trying.

I followed the two siblings back to the camp and approached a small group of girls and boys who nervously prepared to enter the forest. I could completely understand their apprehension. Who knows what lay within the depths of the forest.

"Alright, we're going to do this as fast as possible. The less we're exposed the better. Adam and Ben, you're the best trackers we've got, go on ahead and we'll follow. Alice, Sarah, and Murphy, you're with me. The rest of you will stay and look after the camp. Gather as much wood as you can and follow the patrol schedules we talked about earlier, if anyone leaves their posts, they'll answer to me.'' Bellamy handed me a small hatchet as the others slowly ventured into the woods. I couldn't help but marvel at how efficient Bellamy was making his time. He seemed to think of everything.

"Are you ready?" I stopped myself from stiffening as I felt Bellamy's large hand gently graze my back. I had to remind myself that a normal girl wouldn't be fazed by the subtle gesture of assurance Bellamy had just afforded me.

"I think so." I gripped the hatchet and trudged beside Bellamy into the forest.

It was funny how I felt at ease by myself in the cover of the trees, but once I was surrounded by actual people, every sense was on alert. Bellamy had eventually sent Grumpy and Sarah into a different direction to cover more ground. After an hour of quietly sneaking through the forest with Bellamy constantly one step behind me, I didn't know if I could take it anymore. I was sure he could feel the static air radiating from my body.

"I think it's time for a break, you look a little pale." Bellamy put his hand on a tree and stood with one foot raised on top of a root protruding from the ground, "More so than usual that is."

It was true, my symptoms seemed to be closely related to my emotions and being this close to Bellamy for so long was sending my emotions through the roof. All I could hope was that I didn't start bleeding or throwing up. Talk about hopeless.

"I'm fine." Was all I could manage.

"I know." I found myself backed up against a tree as Bellamy slowly advanced on me.

I had only ever read of romance and love. There wasn't much room for it in between comas and Laura would not indulge any "fantasies," as she called them. But I was slowly beginning to understand the concept of physical attraction. One that most everyone else down here seemed to know very well. Despite the progress we had made at the camp, it was still evident that they were only teenagers. Especially when you might happen upon a couple embracing very publicly like I had only a few hours ago as I was bringing Clarke a fresh bucket of water. It was the first time I had seen a kiss and just before I forced myself to look away, I felt a small flutter in the bottom of my stomach.

I felt the same disturbance as Bellamy laid his hand above my head and looked down to my face, "I've been trying to figure you out Alice." His warm breath smelled of campfire smoke as it hit my cold cheeks.

Despite all of the evidence that defied my feelings, I found myself trusting Bellamy. There wasn't much he could do to hurt me, but I doubted he wanted to anyway. He was merely trying to solve the impossible mystery of me. If he did solve it though, I feared he would not come so close as he was just now.

"You don't want to do that." I warned, not maliciously, but almost in defeat as I was reminded that I could never truly get close to any of these people. Especially Bellamy.

Before he could reply, I felt a small pinch on the back of my neck and looked past Bellamy's tall shoulder to find myself staring straight into the red eyes of an enormous beast. I grabbed Bellamy's arm from above my head, accidentally pulling him closer to me. My chest rose in heaves, hitting his own hard chest, "Wha.." Before he could finish, I clapped my other hand around his mouth. I ignored his sweet smell of sweat and steel filling my nose and his full lips underneath my hand. His eyes widened as he saw the fear in mine.

I slowly pulled my hand from his mouth and reached for the hatchet from the back loop of my pants I had temporarily stashed it in. I felt every movement as Bellamy reached for his own knife from his pocket. A horrible snarl sounded from the shadows that the animal emerged from. It was a bear. A huge, angry bear.

"What is it?" Bellamy whispered, his entire body tensing in stillness.

"It's a… A be…" I didn't finish as the hulking form of the beast came charging towards us. I pushed Bellamy away with enough strength to send him stumbling a few feet away. With as much effort as I could muster, I raised the hatchet above my head and threw it straight ahead. I winced as I heard the blade barely slice skin, then curled myself into a ball at the bottom of the tree. Everything became muffled and all I could hear was the sounds of the bear advancing on me, then an excruciating crack as the world went dark and I felt the tree give out from behind me.

For a moment, everything was still, then the ground jumped as the tall tree fell to the ground. I opened my eyes to find the bear standing over me on all four feet, warmth radiating from its humongous body. I could see its belly rise and fall above me. It was so tall that I could reach up and still not touch its awful black matted fur.

"Alice!" I saw Bellamy scramble forward with his knife, standing tall against the bear, "Alice, run!" I tried to move, but was frozen solid as I saw claws the size of my hand dig into the fallen tree. One tap from those and your innards would be spilling out onto the ground.

The ground vibrated as the bear gave an angry roar and swung off of the tree, hitting my head with the side of its enormous paw. My face smacked back into the hard bark and I thought I felt my neck crack. Spots streaked my vision as I watched the bear turn towards Bellamy. There was no killing this thing, our measly weapons probably couldn't even break its skin. I watched helplessly as the beast slowly cornered Bellamy on the edge of a small cliff only a few yards away.

The others were nowhere near, but they had to have heard the tree falling, along with the rest of the forest. They would be here soon, along with who knows what else. Grounders, perhaps? I struggled to my feet and felt the trees groan as my body filled with energy. Bellamy had managed to turn his back away from the edge, and now both he and the bear stood with their sides to the edge. I could see clearly through the opening and as I stepped forward, Bellamy turned to me. His eyes met mine in fear. And then the bear charged.

I raised my hand and let go. There was no going back after this. I gasped for breath as I felt the force that I had never been able to fully control forcefully throw me back onto my butt. A shudder inducing shriek sounded from where the bear had once been. I looked up to see Bellamy, standing alone and completely speechless. Probably for the first time in his life.

"Bellamy! Where are you?"

"Alice? Bellamy?"

The calls of the others finally came as they noisily bounded through the trees and into the clearing where Bellamy and I stood several feet apart. Bellamy seemed to snap back at the sound of the others and called, "Here, we're over here."

I struggled to my feet and was surprised to feel Bellamy's strong arms wrap through my own, "Easy. I got you." I looked for anything to show me he was about to kill me, but his face was completely masked.

"Bellamy! We saw the tree fall. What the hell happened?" Grumpy cautiously approached us, followed by the others.

"Long story short. We have our dinner." Bellamy lifted me to a full standing position and smiled as if nothing had happened.


	8. Episode 3 Part 3

The walk back to the camp was silent, Bellamy had insisted he take me back himself. He promised the others he would send help to retrieve the bear and ordered them to stay and guard the carcass. If the Grounders hadn't appeared yet, he took to the hope that they wouldn't show at all. At least for now.

"Bellamy I…" I couldn't finish as blood bubbled up from my lungs and into my throat. I fell to my knees as blood spilled from my mouth. My hand instinctively flew up to catch the blood and a tear fell down my face as my now bloody hand shook.

"Shit. Alice! What's happening?" Bellamy stopped trying to hold me and fell to his own knees. He set me back against a rock and pushed my sweaty hair back behind my face. I felt my eyes rolling back into my head and Bellamy's strong hands grabbing my face.

"Alice. Come back, Alice." My ears slowly stopped ringing as Bellamy's worried face blurred into view. The bitter taste of blood stuck in my mouth even though the coughing had stopped. My stomach turned as I remembered many similar experiences to this one. I knew it would pass, at least I hoped so. Bellamy, on the other hand, probably thought I was dying.

"Please." I don't know what exactly I was pleading for. Understanding. Acceptance. For him not to kill me. I unsuccessfully tried to rise and felt Bellamy's hand encircle mine as I fell back.

"I'm here." I tried to fight the darkness but felt completely powerless to the exhaustion that followed...

"She hit her head. It's probably just a concussion." Bellamy's low voice broke the silence of my mind.

"I'll decide if it's a concussion or not." Clarke's angry reply opened my eyes.

"Alice!" I felt a small slender hand wrap around mine and let my head drop to the left to see Octavia's happy face. My mind was working at a hundred miles an hour. I had passed out. Somehow I had gotten back to the ship, because I now found myself in the same room with Jasper, who lay several feet away from me on the floor. I hadn't seen him since I had first brought him in. He looked awful.

I was about to ask how he was when an ache in my throat reminded me what had happened. Bellamy had brought me back to the camp. Bellamy had seen me coughing up blood. Bellamy knew what I was.

"Alice, hey. Can you tell me how you're feeling? Bellamy said you hit your head before the bear fell off of the cliff. Does it hurt?" Clarke kneeled down on my right and felt my forehead. I suppressed a shudder as her face was momentarily replaced by that of Laura's. Too many memories. When I looked away, I met eyes with Bellamy. His expression gave away nothing, but I did know one thing. He had lied to the others. He was protecting me.

"No, I'm fine." My head hurt like hell, along with the rest of my body. But I knew it wasn't because of a concussion. It was far from that.

"You've been out for nearly half a day. You're not fine." Clarke clucked over me like a mother hen. She was completely different than the medics from the Arc. I could see the care and concern in her eyes. She was a true healer.

"I promise. Like Bellamy said, I just hit my head. I guess I just got a little too excited with everything." Partly true.

"I can't believe you two took down that thing!" Octavia squeezed my hand in support, then began to describe how the others had left at the orders of Bellamy and returned in pairs, each with a separate piece of the beast. As her hand left mine to aid in her story, I self consciously made sure that my sleeves were pulled all the way down in what was beginning to become an annoying habit.

"Why don't we give Alice some space." Finn spoke from the shadows. I finally looked around the entire room to find that along with Clarke and the others, Wells and Monty sat closely around the area where I lay. These were my allies. Maybe even friends. At least until they learned the truth. Bellamy had lied on my behalf, but how long would that last?

"You're right. The food should be ready by now. You should all go down and eat." Bellamy was giving an order and although none of them had any intention of becoming one of his followers, even Clarke took the hint. After a quick inspection of the eerily quiet Jasper, Clarke followed after the others down through the drop ship.

I struggled to raise myself up against the cold metal of the ship. Bellamy stood without moving, "Are you ok?"

What a loaded question.

"Do you really want to know?" I distinctly remembered stories of old Earth in which women suspected of possessing extraordinary powers were tied to a stake and burned to death.

"You were coughing up your own blood. I've never seen anything like that."

"What about you? Did you get hurt?" It was an awful attempt at changing the subject, but after a moment of silence, he took the bait.

"I'm fine. If that bear hadn't fallen off the cliff, I don't think either of us would be here right now." His eyes danced with hidden questions, yet he hadn't asked the most important one.

"Yeah, that was lucky."

"Yeah." Was he somehow trying to tell me that my secret was safe with him? Maybe he really did believe that the bear had tripped and slid off the edge. Remembering the look of pure shock on his face as the bear flew off of the cliff had me seriously doubting that.

My blood coursed through my veins, filled with suppressed adrenaline. If I had learned anything in my short and miserable life, it was that playing the damsel in distress got you nowhere. In reality, there was no prince or fairy godmother to rescue me. I had survived the Arc and I could survive Earth. I sucked in a deep breath and forced myself to stand.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Bellamy made to step forward then stopped.

"I said I'm fine." My vision blurred but I locked my legs and pushed past the fogginess, "I'm going outside."

After a few shaky steps, I made my way past the still sleeping Jasper and down through the drop ship. Several people stopped what they were doing for just enough time to throw me a smile or pat my shoulder. It took me a moment to realize what for. I had been with Bellamy when the bear was killed. Although none of them knew the truth, they had food for at least two more nights in part because of me.

I myself felt sick as I smelled the scents of burning meat. I had killed something. True, it had been trying to kill me and it would have killed Bellamy if I hadn't stepped in, but I had killed it nonetheless. Despite its enormous size and terror inducing snarl, it was a living creature. After being tormented my entire life, I had a strange if not confused sense of morality.

Bellamy had tried to follow after me, but was stopped by a grumpy looking Grumpy. The crisp air filled my lungs and gave me a small boost of energy. Clarke had said I had been out for half the day. The sun was already starting to set and most everyone seemed to content to wander around, making idle conversation. I still didn't know if this would ever feel normal. My entire life seemed like a horrible dream and on the rare occasion that I wasn't being chased to death on Earth, I found myself seeing hope for the future.

"Ah, the mighty bear-slayer awakens!" Octavia skipped beside me in overexaggerated happiness. This girl went through more emotions in a day than I thought possible. A round of cheers followed her exclamation that sent my stomach flying. I had meant to skate by fairly unnoticed, but somehow I had managed to gain an almost celebrity status.

"I didn't kill it, it fell off of a cliff." Flashes of my hands flying into the air and being thrown back several feet nearly sent me reeling.

"Don't be modest." Octavia threw an arm around my shoulder and beamed, as if I belonged to her and she was showing me off. I couldn't help but marvel at her. She was everything I could never be. She was able to forget the horrors of her past, but I had a constant reminder how broken I was.

"Anyways, as a thank you for your bravery, I have a surprise for you." The smile on her face seemed to radiate with mystery.

"I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one, trust me."

Octavia led me through the outer lying trees and towards the small water hole that now supplied the camp. At the confused look on my face, Octavia giggled and led me further beyond the trees. I was surprised to find a second, smaller pit of dark water. The moon just barely peeked through the trees to illuminate the sparkling water.

"It's a hot spring. I found it while you guys were out hunting. No one else knows it's here, which means it's ours now." She immediately began to pull her shirt off and crouched beside the water.

"Are you sure there aren't any giant radioactive serpents in there?" Did I just make a joke? No, that was actually serious.

"Hilarious. Now take yours off." I hesitated. It was too dark to see any of my scars, but the thought of being exposed was less than appealing. I had been at the mercy of science and experimentation for my entire life, which left little room for privacy. I never wanted to feel like that again. Octavia was nothing like Laura or the others, despite the little time we had known each other, I felt I could trust her.

Her body was nothing like mine. I tried not to stare as I slowly pulled my bloody shirt off and handed it to her. She had the same dark skin as Bellamy, but hers was soft and feminine where mine was pale and drained. She had a tall and lean figure, completely opposite from my short and moderately full bust.

During the treatments, I hadn't been afforded undergarments, they just got in the way. I faintly realized that I was now wearing a bra and panties, which meant someone else had put them on me. I suppressed a shudder and took the pants off in disgust. How could I still allow them to degrade me when they weren't even here.

Octavia dipped the clothes in the water and handed mine back to me to scrub them clean. We sat in our underwear and bras with our feet dangling in the warm water. When I was sure I had scrubbed the blood and stench completely from the clothes, we laid them out on a rock and Octavia slid into the water. I shot a quick glance around and soon followed.

"This is amazing." Octavia leaned back on the edge of the pool and looked up to the sky. I had to agree. Everyone on the Arc was subject to limited cleanliness, but I rarely found myself needing it, considering I never did anything, let alone perspired. On Earth, however, I found I had many opportunities to become a stinking mess. I let my hair fall back into the water then submerged my face. Holding on to the rocks, I stayed just under the surface and opened my eyes to darkness.

It was so peaceful and quiet. If only the water could wash away my scars along with my memories. I reluctantly broke above the surface of the water and looked to the sky with Octavia, "I wonder what they're doing up there."

"Who gives a shit. Just be glad they're not down here." If only she knew.

We sat silently in the still water for what felt like hours. To put it lightly, I was screwed. I had no plan and was nowhere closer to making one. There wasn't much time to think of the future when you're constantly trying to stay alive. Despite their protests of support, I knew I could never trust the others and I had no idea how to handle Bellamy.

"I think our clothes are dry." I ran my hand through my wet hair and nodded towards the clothes.

"Yeah, I guess." Octavia squeezed the water from her long dark hair and I used my hands to prop myself back up on the edge of the pool.

"Thank you Alice. You're the only one who looks at me the same. There's something different about you. In a good way that is." Octavia smiled and slipped back into her clothes.

I didn't answer as I put my own now crinkled and stiff clothes back on. It was hard for me to accept that someone as pure and innocent as Octavia could find the good within me.

It didn't take long to return to the camp and I soon took my place outside of the drop ship, waiting to see if Clarke needed me. I became quite ashamed with myself as I remembered the state Jasper was currently in. How could I worry so much about my own situation as he lay nearly dying in a cold and dank crashed ship that was falling apart. It was only a reminder of how far away from human that I had become.

"You must be feeling better." Clarke approached from within the ship and slid down on the ground beside me.

"It really wasn't anything to worry about. But yes, I do feel much better." My sickness had subsided to a subtle nausea that constantly plagued the back of my mind. Sadly, I was used to it.

"You took your wristband off." Clarke finally noticed.

"I…" I couldn't respond to the look of betrayal on her face.

"It's okay. You must have had your reasons. Bellamy, on the other hand, I don't trust him." She was warning me. I self consciously rubbed at the area my wrist band had once been. From what I had gathered, Clarke's mother was a doctor on the Arc. Although I had learned that Clarke could be trusted, her mother was an entirely different story, and her motivation for salvaging the wrist bands was clearly pushed by her need to contact her mother. Where would her loyalties lie if she knew the truth?

"Do you really think they will follow us down here?" My heart nearly beat out of my chest in anticipation. It was a false hope, I knew. No matter how far I ran, the Arc would find me.

"I think Monty and I have found a way to contact the Arc through the wrist bands. It's a long shot, but it just may work." The hope in Clarke's eyes was the exact opposite of what I was feeling.

"I hope you find what you're looking for." I truly did wish her happiness. If she had a chance to reunite with her family, I definitely couldn't stop her. I wouldn't wish my loneliness on anyone.

"What about you? Don't you have anyone up there that you want to see again?" Clarke seemed to be grasping for anything to convince me that she was doing the right thing. She didn't know that I had already reluctantly accepted that I knew the Arc must come down to Earth if humanity were to survive. No one deserved to die, and I definitely wasn't one to decide who got to live. I just had to be long gone by the time they did come back.

"No one." It stung to admit aloud that I was truly alone. Clarke looked hurt at the thought of my pain.

"Well, you do have someone now. Me." Clarke wiped the dust off of her jeans and stood, smiling.

I was speechless. Clarke didn't seem to mind my awkward response as she walked back inside the ship where she slept with Jasper, Monty, and Finn.

Apparently Bellamy had taken residence in the largest tent posted to the left of the dropship and argued with Octavia until she reluctantly retired to a smaller tent close by Bellamy's. It had been less than a week but it felt like an eternity. They had already made the crash site into a fully working camp and it seemed as if they were adapting to their new situation extremely well, however terrifying it might be.

I had what seemed like an eternity to myself on the Arc and was finding it particularly hard to process any comprehensive thoughts in the midst of so much movement and action. Yet, an annoyingly persistent pang in my stomach was hard to ignore as I saw an attractive young girl slip into Bellamy's tent. Though I was significantly lacking in that department, it didn't take long to come to a conclusion about what was about to happen in that tent. Was this normal teenage behavior or was I merely exaggerating the situation?

Who knows.

As I tried to reign in my scattered emotions, a heavy exhaustion slipped over me that I hardly even tried to resist. All I could do was bide my time and hope an answer would come to my problems. Could I really survive alone on Earth? Despite my worries, it didn't take long to succumb to sleep and I found myself dreaming of glowing butterflies as I drifted away.

It seemed too quick as I awoke to the subtle noises of the camp. My body teemed with an energy that I had never quite felt before. It was truly surreal to feel the wind of the light breezes blow through my hair and the sun on my skin. The vibrancy of the forest was such a drastic change from the dull fluorescent lights of the Arc.

I cringed as I heard Jasper's muffled cries coming from inside the ship. How long would this last before he couldn't fight anymore, or someone got tired of the noise? I made decision, it wasn't doing me any good to sit around feeling sorry for myself. At the moment, Jasper needed help and I wasn't going to deny him as I had been. So I took one last breath of fresh air and entered the claustrophobic ship.

"Hold him down." The small room stunk of sweat and blood, lit by only a small lantern. As I climbed the ladder and kneeled behind Clarke, Finn and Wells grabbed Jasper's arms. I moved towards his legs after a quick glance from Clarke. Flashes of white straps holding me down pounded in my head and I shakily took hold of his legs.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Monty kept his distance as Clarke slipped a knife into the fire.

The moment the hot edge touched his sweat drenched skin, Jasper let out a gut wrenching scream, "Hold him down! I need to cut away the infected flesh." Clarke never took her eyes off the wound, despite Jasper's thrashing.

"Stop it! You're killing him!" Octavia ran towards Clarke and felt Jasper's forehead just as the struggling stopped and his eyes rolled back into his head. I gripped his legs with a grasp of steel and fought to ignore the ringing in my ears.

"She's trying to save his life." Finn tried to reassure Octavia as her face filled with worry.

"She can't." With amazing timing as always, Bellamy entered the now very crowded room.

Jasper seemed to be breathing, just unconscious. Wells sighed and rose to Bellamy's height, "Back off." Oh the testosterone.

"We didn't drag him through miles of woods just to let him die." Clarke still attended to the now bloody wound.

"The kid's a gonner. If you can't see that you're deluded. He's making people crazy." I couldn't help but question Bellamy's harsh tone. If his intentions towards me weren't out of the goodness of his heart, what were they for?

"I'm sorry if Jasper's life is an inconvenience to you, but this isn't the Arc. Down here, every life matters." Clarke's distrust of Bellamy was seeming to turn to hatred.

"Take a look at him. He's a lost cause." Bellamy seemed to truly believe it. I knew he was only thinking logically, trying to protect the interests of the camp, but that couldn't excuse his cruelty. If Jasper had even the slightest chance, I believed he deserved the help.

The room grew silent as everyone seemed to consider what Bellamy had said. It was true, Jasper looked as if he were on his last breath, but if anyone knew anything about surviving, it was me.

"Octavia, I've spent my whole life watching my mother heal people. If I say there's hope, there is hope." Clarke tried to reassure Octavia. I found the differences in our upbringings very different. I had only ever seen people be broken.

"This isn't about hope, it's about guts. You don't have the guts to make the hard choices. I do. He's been like this for three days. If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll kill him myself." Bellamy's harsh words turned my stomach cold, "Octavia, let's go."

"I'm staying here." Octavia looked near tears as she gripped a dirty clothes rag. Bellamy, however, silently left without her. What had happened to these two siblings to cause them so much pain?

"Power-hungry, self-serving, Jackass. He doesn't care about anybody but himself." Monty now crouched beside Jasper and after looking at Octavia added, "No offense."

Octavia shrugged and I finally let go of Jasper's limp legs. I had thought I could handle it, but maybe it was time for a break.

"Yeah, Bellamy is all that. But he also happens to be right." Finn added grimly looking at Jasper. Clarke looked to Finn in disappointment.

I silently went down the ladder and hurried out of the ship. As the wind blew, the sweat covering my body cooled and I couldn't seem to shake the smell of blood from my nose. Before I realized what I was doing, I stormed through Bellamy's tent and came face to face with his annoyingly handsome smirk.

"Do you need something?" The worried look from earlier was now replaced with wariness.

"How could you give up on him? What makes you think you have the right to decide who lives and who dies?" My voice was quiet, but I could clearly hear the shiver behind it.

"You saw him. He's dead already. If the Grounder's attack we can't protect him and right now all he's doing is calling attention to the camp." All of his points were valid, but that didn't make them right.

"You helped me." I didn't mean to say that aloud. The last thing I needed was to remind him of the incident.

"That was different. You're different." That was the second time I had heard that and I wasn't entirely sure if it was a compliment or an accusation.

I backed away now sub-conscious of how close we were, as if being closer to him would give away my secrets, "I have to go."

Bellamy didn't try to follow my as I left his tent, but I didn't have much time to think about it as I came upon Clarke and Finn talking intently, "Whatever this stuff is, it had to have antibiotic properties." Wells soon came up behind me and I could feel the tension. Between all of this drama, I didn't know what I was going to do with myself.

"Let me take a look. Before you refuse my help, remember who aced botany and Earth skills."

Clarke didn't look happy, but she finally conceded, "The Grounder's used it as a poultice. I"m thinking a team might be even more effective if we can figure out what it is." Clarke looked intently in my eyes, avoiding Well's at all costs.

"I know what it is. Seaweed. Look, the root structure." Wells ignored the cold-shoulder and tried to help any way he could.

"Alright, then there must be a water source nearby."

"Yeah, it'd have to have a strong current, lots of rocks, the water would probably be more red than green." Wells seemed extremely well educated on the subject. I couldn't understand Clarke's rejection, Wells was trying so hard to gain her acceptance. If I had anyone who cared that much about me, as I could see clearly in Well's face, I don't think I could reject them so easily.

"I know just the place." Finn seemed completely unaffected by the quarrel and smiled happily, nodding to me in encouragement.

"Alright, let's go." Clarke was up in no time.

"Hey, I know what this stuff looks like. Do you?" Well's wasn't backing down. And it seemed it had finally worked. Clarke looked to Finn in defeat and Finn led Well's towards the pile of supplies, leaving the two of us alone.

"Alice, I need you to stay behind and watch Jasper. Please, make sure nothing happens to him." Clarke seemed completely worn out. I don't know how I would have held up in her situation, but I did know I would help her as much as I could.

"Of course. Just hurry back." I added the last part at the sounds of Jasper's moans. Clarke had been referring to Bellamy of course. I could hold up my own, but I was keeping to the hope that Bellamy's threats were only just that.

Within minutes I was standing guard outside of the ship with Octavia and Monty watching Jasper from inside. I hated to admit it, but I felt defenseless without the comfort of Clarke and the others beside me.

"Where did Clarke go?" Octavia stood beside me, shoving her tangled hair out of her face in frustration.

"They think they might have found something to help Jasper. They've gone to look for it."

"Good." Octavia didn't seem to be completely listening as her gaze followed Bellamy across the camp. It was hard to discern the emotions. Grudging. Loving. Regretful.

It seemed Bellamy had gathered another hunting party together. Something had me thinking it was more of a distraction than a necessity. Occasionally, I caught him glancing towards the two of us. However, he soon ventured into the woods fully equipped with weapons and ready to kill his frustration away.

Just as I was about to ask about Jasper, I noticed a small girl standing behind a tree near the ship, shooting daggers my way. I had quickly gotten used to the annoyed glances due to Jasper's noises, but something about the girl grabbed my attention. She was one of the youngest, with her hair braided back and oversized clothes, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I hadn't had much time to pay attention to the other kids of the camp.

A single tear ran down her cheek and she quickly ran into the cover of the forest, past the confines of the camp. My heart raced as I realized she was alone.

"Octavia. Watch Jasper." I grabbed her shoulder to get her attention and ran after the girl before she could respond. Horrible images spread through my thoughts as I ignored the puzzled looks of the other campers watching me speed into the forest.

My heart dropped as trees surrounded me and I had absolutely no idea where she had gone. I definitely wasn't one for tracking and the forest was completely silent. I couldn't call out to her, considering I had no idea what her name was.

My fingers tingled as my throat seemed to close up on me. I couldn't let anything happen to this girl and somehow I knew she was in danger. A single shuffling sound was all it took and I was racing in the direction of the noise.

"No!" I raised my hand and everything seemed to still as I saw the girl, then a razor sharp axe hurtling towards her head. I could feel my energy as the axe slightly changed directions and went sailing three inches deep into the tree beside the girl. My head pounded as the girl turned towards my direction and I stepped forward to find that Bellamy was the one who had thrown the axe.

"Get her!" An awful shrieking sounded as the others ran after what looked like a giant pig.

"Who the hell are you? And what the hell are you doing here?" Bellamy looked to the girl then me.

The girl stood stiffly but answered, "I'm Charlotte."

"I almost killed you. Why aren't you back at camp?" Bellamy advanced and pulled his axe out of the tree.

"That guy who was dying… I just. I couldn't listen anymore."

"There are Grounders out here, it's too dangerous for you." I stepped towards Charlotte and looked her in the eyes.

"I'm not a little girl." Charlotte said defiantly.

"Okay then, but you can't hunt without a weapon." Bellamy looked to me and pulled out a small knife then handed it to her.

"Ever killed something before?" His words were directed towards her but I could only remember see the bear in my eyes. When she nodded no he responded, "Well who knows, maybe you're good at it." Charlotte looked down to her knife and Adam, who had just walked up to our small group, handed me a similar knife.

"It's alright, no bears out today." He joked and walked off with Charlotte following behind after a nod from Bellamy.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" I asked referring to Charlotte.

"She has to learn to protect herself." Harsh, but true.

"Do you hear that?" The entire forest seemed to shuffle yet there was no wind to explain the movement. An awful feeling of dread seeped through my body as I felt the air pop around me. An enormous yellow cloud of electric smoke seeped through the trees with Adam and Charlotte racing towards us desperately to escape the fog.

"Run!" Adam shouted as he passed us. The ground shook with the force of the fog and Bellamy grabbed Charlotte's arm encouraging her to run. I followed close behind, trying not to trip on the snaking vines along the forest floor.

"Come on, there are caves this way." Bellamy shouted in urgency.

Adam looked behind us only for a moment a fell behind me, tripping and falling to the ground. Bellamy glanced back at the sound while dragging Charlotte, "Go!" I shouted. It didn't take much convincing.

I rushed towards Adam, holding my breath. It didn't take much to figure that the fog was dangerous. Just as I grabbed his arm to lift him up, the fog surrounded us and horrible coughs immediately erupted from his throat. I gasped and held my mouth.

"Adam! Come one, we have to keep moving." I struggled to lift him but he was too heavy and for some reason he started to thrash against me. I finally understood as my hand grasped his. It was covered in awful blisters, bursting and oozing blood.

I looked to my own skin, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. My lungs didn't seem to be reacting to the fog very well, but I was nowhere as critical as Adam. A heavy thud beat in the back of my head and my ears rung as I felt a thick wetness run from my ears and nose. Ok, maybe I wasn't faring so well against the fog.

"Run." Adam struggled past his own pain as he saw the blood covering my face. I looked to him one last time and felt my legs moving my body towards the caves Bellamy and Charlotte had taken cover in. How could I just leave him like that?

I ran towards the small opening of the cave and staggered in, using the rough walls for support. My eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness and at the sounds of my own coughs, I heard what I could only assume to be Bellamy and Charlotte. I couldn't even begin to describe the look on his face. He slowly rose from comforting Charlotte to approach me.

I had long ago become accustomed to the sight of my own blood, but I was beginning to wonder when Bellamy might get tired of seeing the atrocity.

"I couldn't carry him." I pleaded as I looked into Bellamy's eyes. I felt like a monster, and I'm sure I looked the part.

"It's okay. You're okay. You couldn't have done anything." To my complete and utter surprise, Bellamy stepped forward and grabbed my arms in assurance. Charlotte sat huddled in a corner at the back of the wall with her legs wrapped firmly in her arms.

Seeing the look of horror on her face prompted me to wipe the blood from my face. Bellamy let go of my arms only to pull my hands away from my face. He pulled me over to a small puddle of water and dipped his hand in.

His hands gently brushed my face and I couldn't look him in the eyes after I saw them return to the water covered in blood. At least this time I had an excuse for leaking blood out of every hole in my head.

"The others? Do you think they're alright?" I couldn't help but think of Clarke and the others. At least the people at the camp could take cover in the ship, but there was no telling where Clarke was.

"I'm sure they found somewhere to hide." He didn't sound very convincing.

"How long do you think this will last?" I couldn't get the sight of Adam's mauled flesh out of my mind. He was still alive and I had left him.

Bellamy's look told me he had absolutely no idea. A small whimper slipped from Charlotte's mouth and Bellamy kneeled down beside her, "We're going to get through this. I promise."

Promises. I had been promised so much on the Arc, but quickly discovered that it was all a lie. Until now, I never believed I could be free. The look in Bellamy's eyes guaranteed that he had no intentions of breaking his promise, however.

Charlotte seemed to be content with his reassurance and settled into the small crook that she had found shelter in. Bellamy sat back next to her feet and lay his arms on his outstretched legs. I kept my distance, staying on the other side of the cave by the water puddle. I hoped the darkness of the cave covered my face as I finally managed to wipe the remaining blood off.

The cave grew quite as Charlotte started to nod off and to my discomfort, Bellamy looked to me, "What happened out there?"

"I don't know. It just started burning him. I couldn't breathe. He told me to run. I should have stayed." I couldn't stop myself from rambling.

"Alice. You would have died." Bellamy cut me off and I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from saying anything I might regret.

Bellamy shook his head and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. I followed suite and rested my ringing head against the cold wall.

If only Laura could see me now. She would be having a field day with all of this, going on about how special I was and spewing out endless scientific babble. The fog hadn't affected me like Adam, but it had affected me nonetheless. For all I knew it could affect everyone differently, there was no need to be worried just yet.

They still knew so little about what they had done to me when they sent me down here. They had gotten desperate and taken drastic measures to test their experiments. I just happened to be one of those experiments. Questions spiraled through my head, unable to let my brain rest. I doubted I would be sleeping any time soon, yet Bellamy and Charlotte seemed to have already fallen into a deep sleep.

It was strange seeing Bellamy in such a vulnerable position. I had only ever seen him ordering everyone around or pointing a gun at something. Watching his chest slowly rise and fall calmly made it much easier to see past the tough facade. Everything Bellamy did was motivated by his need to protect his sister, however overbearing he might be at times. There wasn't much wrong I could find in that.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, but was actually several hours, Charlotte began to struggle in her sleep and her protests broke the silence of the cave, waking Bellamy and sending me jumping.

"No!"

"Charlotte, wake up!" Bellamy gently grabbed her legs and squeezed in reassurance as Charlotte hazily regained her surroundings.

"I'm sorry." Charlotte hid her head in embarrassment as she looked at Bellamy then me. I sat completely still, glad that the shadows hid my face, causing Charlotte to believe that I was still asleep.

"Does that happen often?" I could hear a touch of understanding in Bellamy's tone. Perhaps he had experienced night terrors as well.

"What are you scared of?" After a moment of silence, Bellamy continued, "You know what, it doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is what you do about it."

"I… I'm asleep." Charlotte said in confusion.

"Fears are fears. You slay your demons when you're awake, they won't be there to get you when you sleep."

"Yeah, but how?"

"You can't afford to be weak. Down here, weakness is death. Fear is death. Let me see that knife I gave you," Charlotte pulled the small knife out and handed it to Bellamy, "Now when you feel afraid, you hold tight to that knife and you say screw you, I'm not afraid."

Not very articulate if you ask me, but it was a bit inspiring. Bellamy handed the knife back to Charlotte and waited for her response.

"Screw you, I'm not afraid." After an unconvinced look from Bellamy, Charlotte tried again, "Screw you, I'm not afraid."

Seemingly satisfied, Bellamy settled back beside Charlotte and said into the dark open, "Slay your demons kid. Then you'll be able to sleep." I could have sworn I saw his eyes meet mine through the dark.


End file.
